BEIJING: China believes “force is not a way to resolve” the Israeli-Palestinian crisis and once again calls for a ceasefire, its envoy for the Middle East pleaded in Egypt, the foreign ministry said on Sunday.

Egypt on Saturday hosted a “summit for peace” where UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for swift “action to end this godawful nightmare” after two weeks of Israeli brutality in Gaza.

Beijing’s envoy for the Middle East, Zhai Jun, met Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit on the sidelines of the summit.

The Chinese diplomat called for an “immediate ceasefire and an end to the fighting as quickly as possible”, his ministry said in a statement.

“China believes that force is not a way to resolve the problem and that responding to violence with violence will only lead to a vicious circle of revenge,” Zhai said according to the statement, which mentioned neither Israel nor Hamas. China has so far maintained good relations with Israel, but it has supported the Palestinian cause for decades and traditionally backs a two-state solution.

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2023