A Chinese envoy visited Israel and Ramallah this week and met with senior officials from both sides, according to statements from China’s foreign ministry released on Friday.
Zhai Jun, the special envoy of the Chinese government on Middle East issues, was in Israel from Tuesday to Thursday.
During his visit, he held talks with Israeli officials, including Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, and "exchanged views on regional hot issues."
Sa’ar posted on X/Twitter about the meeting, saying he stressed the need for open dialogue between the two countries and a desire to improve diplomatic relations.
Eyes on Iran
“I urged China to pay attention to Iran's attempts to rearm and regroup its web of proxies. Iran is still the main source of instability in the Middle East,” Sa’ar stated.
“I also emphasized that a reliable peace process requires Palestinian society to undergo a process of deradicalization and to disconnect from the ethos of terror.”
In a separate statement, China’s foreign ministry said Zhai also visited Ramallah in the West Bank on Wednesday and held a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
During the meeting, they reportedly discussed China-Palestinian relations and other Palestinian related issues.