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Israel-Gaza mediation role will require China to work with other powers, Xiangshan forum hears
- Middle East discussion panel at Beijing event says new security architecture needs to be built on multipolar geopolitical framework
- The panellists urge China and other major powers to work together for an immediate ceasefire to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe
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China must strike a balance and work with other powers if it is to play an active mediation role in the Israel-Gaza war, according to Middle East experts attending a high-profile security forum in Beijing.
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Experts from China, Iran, Ukraine, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan joined a discussion panel at the Beijing Xiangshan Forum on a new security architecture for the Middle East, which they agreed needed to be built on a multipolar geopolitical framework.
They urged the major powers, including China, the United States, Russia, Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, to work together for an immediate ceasefire and prevent the crisis from descending into a humanitarian catastrophe.
Speaking to the South China Morning Post at the margins of the forum, panellist Wang Lincong from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Institute of West-Asian and African Studies, said Beijing could play a mediating role.
“As the largest trading partner to the Arabian countries and the leader of the Belt and Road Initiative which covers the Middle East, China has the leverage and capabilities to intervene in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict,” Wang said.
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