BEIJING: China supports the “just cause of the Palestinian people in safeguarding their national rights”, Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Iranian counterpart on Sunday as Beijing took a clear stance on the Israel-Gaza situation.

China, which has close ties with Iran, has increasingly positioned itself as a mediator in the Middle East, but has been criticised by Western officials for not condemning Hamas.

“The root cause... of the Palestine-Israel situation is that the Palestinian people’s right to statehood has been set aside for a long time,” Wang said in a call with Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Sunday, according to an official Chinese readout.

“This historical injustice should end as soon as possible,” Wang said, adding that “China will continue to stand on the side of peace and support the just cause of the Palestinian people in safeguarding their national rights”.

The Chinese foreign minister said in a call on Sunday with his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan that Israel’s actions were now “beyond the scope of self-defence” and the Israeli government must “cease its collective punishment of the people of Gaza”.

“(Israel) should listen earnestly to the calls of the international community and the UN secretary general, and cease its collective punishment of the people of Gaza,” Wang added in a departure from Beijing’s earlier statements on the conflict.

Published in Dawn, October 16th, 2023