Chinese leader Xi Jinping spent the first part of this year seeking to play global peacemaker, proposing a cease-fire in Ukraine and helping long-time rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran reach a diplomatic truce.
Yet his government’s reaction to the Israel-Hamas conflict is exposing the limits of Xi’s ability to bring lasting solutions to some of the world’s most intractable clashes. Much like his proposal on Russia’s war in Ukraine, China’s initial statement on Sunday sought to avoid naming an aggressor and failed to offer any specific offer of immediate assistance.
After Hamas launched a shock incursion into Israel, killing hundreds, China’s Foreign Ministry reiterated a call for an independent Palestinian state while making no mention of the attacks on civilians. “All parties” should act with restraint, according to the two-paragraph statement, which did not mention Hamas by name. The ministry later said it was a “friend to both” sides, and that it was “saddened” by the casualties.
Israel pushed back, with Yuval Waks — deputy chief of the nation’s mission in Beijing — saying China’s failure to condemn the violence as “terrorists are holding children” was regrettable from a country with friendly ties to Israel.
US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Monday directly confronted Xi about Beijing’s position, telling the Chinese leader in a rare meeting that he was “disappointed” the Asian nation showed “no sympathy” for the Israeli people. Xi didn’t address those criticisms, only saying publicly during a meeting with Schumer: “We have a thousand reasons to make US-China relations better, and no reason to make them worse.”
The attacks on Israel by the militant group Hamas have handed Xi an “awkward moment,” according to Raffaello Pantucci, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.
“Beijing has moved to paint itself as a global player,” he said. “You would expect them to offer some ideas or thoughts about how to resolve this situation, and yet we do not really see them offering anything.”
Peace player
Xi first waded into the Middle East peace process in March when he took credit for a detente between Iran and Saudi Arabia, after providing the physical site in Beijing for representatives from both sides to talk. That deal came shortly after Xi met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia, and held talks with Iranian leader Ebrahim Raisi.