Against a backdrop of decades-long unrest and stalled peace efforts in the Middle East, China has increasingly positioned itself as a neutral diplomatic mediator to de-escalate regional conflicts, with top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi recently delivering clear calls for action to Israeli President Isaac Herzog during a face-to-face meeting on the sidelines of an international conference in Azerbaijan this Thursday.
According to a statement from Wang Yi’s office, the Chinese foreign minister told Herzog that Israel must immediately end its forced establishment of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and reverse all unilateral actions that have further eroded Palestinian territorial rights. Wang went on to describe the long-running Palestinian question as the greatest unaddressed historical injustice of the modern century, reaffirming Beijing’s longstanding, unwavering support for the Palestinian people’s right to establish an independent sovereign state. China has for decades held that the two-state solution, which would see Israel and Palestine coexist peacefully within recognized 1967 borders, remains the only viable and correct path to a lasting regional peace.
This diplomatic engagement is the latest step in China’s broader push to carve out a role as a trusted conflict mediator in the Middle East, a region long dominated by Western diplomatic influence. In 2023, Beijing scored a major diplomatic breakthrough when it brokered a historic deal to restore full diplomatic relations between regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia, ending seven years of severed ties and open hostility. Earlier this year, China joined Pakistan in putting forward a joint proposal calling for an immediate ceasefire in the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict, which has drawn widespread international support from Global South nations.
Beijing’s diplomatic efforts focused on the Gaza conflict have centered heavily on advancing Palestinian national unity, a key precursor to any long-term peace deal. In 2024, Chinese diplomats facilitated talks between rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas, resulting in a landmark agreement to form an interim national reconciliation government that would govern both the occupied West Bank and Gaza after the conclusion of the war with Israel. However, that agreement has yet to be implemented, leaving Palestinian political divisions unresolved.
During this week’s meeting, Wang emphasized that the immediate top priority for the international community is to fully open all border crossings into Gaza to allow unimpeded access for humanitarian aid, in a bid to stop the ongoing spread of what he termed a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. He added that China stands ready to work alongside all responsible members of the international community to bring all conflicting parties back to the negotiating table and advance a comprehensive political settlement to the decades-long conflict.
In a public post on the social platform X following the meeting, Herzog said he was pleased to hold talks with Wang, noting that their discussion centered on bilateral relations between China and Israel as well as the overall regional security situation. Herzog wrote that he emphasized Israel’s fundamental desire for peace in the Middle East, while also outlining what he described as pressing strategic security threats to Israel, led first and foremost by Iran and what he called its terrorist proxy groups across the region.
China has long maintained close strategic and economic ties with Iran, and remains the world’s largest buyer of Iranian crude oil, even as Tehran has faced sweeping unilateral sanctions from the United States over its nuclear program over the past decade.
One year after the entry into force of the current US-brokered ceasefire in Gaza, Palestinian civilians in the enclave continue to face daily threats to their safety, widespread displacement, and severe food insecurity. While the large-scale intensive bombardment of Gaza that marked the first phase of the war has ceased, Israeli military strikes continue to be carried out across Gaza almost every day. Official data indicates that more than 1,400 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes in the 12 months since the ceasefire first took effect in October 2025.
The current ceasefire was framed as the first phase of a broader deal to end the Gaza war, a conflict that was triggered by the deadly Hamas-led attack on Israeli territory on 7 October 2023 that killed roughly 1,200 people, most of them civilians. However, negotiations to move forward with the second phase of the ceasefire deal, which would lead to a full permanent end to hostilities and the release of all remaining hostages, have been completely stalled. Both Israel and Hamas have repeatedly accused one another of violating the terms of the existing ceasefire agreement, raising ongoing fears that full-scale hostilities could resume at any time.