US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged China, a partner of Iran, to utilize its influence to promote peace in the Middle East on Saturday.
According to State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, the senior US diplomat, who was in Saudi Arabia, had a “productive” one-hour phone chat with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
“Our message was that he thinks it’s in our shared interest to stop the conflict from spreading.” Miller told reporters on Blinken’s plane from Riyadh to Abu Dhabi.
“He thought it could be useful if China could use its influence.”
China has a friendly connection with Iran, whose religious leadership backs both Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist party running Gaza that carried out heinous attacks within Israel a week ago, and Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group that could launch a second front against Israel.
According to a readout issued by the Chinese foreign ministry, Wang stated that the US should “play a constructive and responsible role, pushing the issue back on track for a political settlement as soon as possible.”
“When dealing with international hot-spot issues, major countries must adhere to objectivity and fairness, maintain calmness and restraint, and take the lead in abiding by international law,” said Wang.
The Chinese foreign minister added that Beijing called for “the convening of an international peace meeting as soon as possible to promote the reaching of broad consensus”.
“The fundamental outlet for the Palestinian issue lies in implementing a ‘two-state solution’,” said Wang.
China’s official pronouncements on the war have not particularly named Hamas in their condemnations of violence, prompting some Western officials to criticize them as being too weak.
The US regards China as its biggest global rival, but the two countries have been striving to improve their ties, with Blinken undertaking a rare visit to Beijing in June.
Miller cited the Middle East as an example of where the two powers may collaborate.
The phone chat also featured a discussion of China-US relations, which have been severely strained in recent years due to a variety of contentious trade and geopolitical concerns.
But Wang suggested there were some positive signs.
“China and the United States have recently carried out a series of high-level contacts, and bilateral relations appear to have stopped sliding and to stabilise,” said Wang.
“(This) has been welcomed by the people of the two countries and the international community.”