China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has told the United Nations Security Council that Gaza and the West Bank are “not a bargaining chip in political trade-offs”, Reuters reports.

Wang chaired a meeting of the 15-member Security Council on multilateralism because China is the body’s president for February.

Wang said it was vital to uphold the two-state solution.

“Gaza and the West Bank are the homeland of the Palestinian people, not a bargaining chip in political trade-offs. The Palestinians governing Palestine is an important principle that must be followed in the post-conflict governance of Gaza,” he said.

Wang told a press conference after the meeting that while most attention was currently being paid to Ukraine, other issues like Gaza must not be pushed to the side.

“We must realise that in our world today, there’s not just the Ukraine issue.

“There are also many other hotspots, including the crisis in Gaza, which also require attention from the international community, and these issues must not be marginalised,” he said.