by admin | May 25, 2021 | Interviews, Muslim World
Palestinian Secretary-General of the Presidency, Tayeb Abdul Rahim (R) meets with Wu Sike (L), then China’s special envoy to Middle East, in the West Bank city of Ramallah on April, 27, 2013.
Ramallah : China can be a honest broker in pushing forward the Israeli-Palestinian peace process in light of its fair stance on the issue, a senior Palestinian official told Xinhua in a recent interview.
Tayeb Abdul Rahim, secretary-general of Palestinian Presidency and an aide to President Mahmoud Abbas, said the Palestinians are pleased that China has shown great interest in pushing forward the Israeli-Palestinian peace process stalled since 2014.
Through cooperation with the international community, China, as a great power and a permanent member of the UN Security Council, can help resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on the two-state solution, Rahim said.
He was commenting on the four-point proposal on resolving the Palestinian issue that was put forward by Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting with his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas in Beijing in July.
The proposal reiterated China’s firm support for political settlement of the Palestinian issue on the basis of the two-state solution, and for the establishment of an independent, fully sovereign Palestinian state along the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
It also highlighted the importance of enhancing international coordination to achieve peace between Israel and Palestine, while calling for supporting Palestine’s economic development within the framework of China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
China also offered to host a symposium on the Israeli-Palestinian peace later this year and launch a tripartite dialogue mechanism with Palestine and Israel, in order to create necessary conditions for resuming the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and increase their mutual trust.
Rahim said that if the international community and the influential parties like China, Russia and the European Union are all united in their efforts in pushing forward the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, “they would have greater influence to end the circle of talks for the sake of talks.”
He noted that China has good ties with both sides of the conflict, the Palestinians and the Israelis, and its policy is largely accepted by the Palestinians and the peace forces in Israel.
“China always believes that the Palestinian issue is the root cause of the Middle East conflict and resolving it would lead to the resolution of all problems in the region,” Rahim said, adding that China can play a pivotal role with its vision of resolving the problems through constructive talks.
The senior Palestinian official said the Palestinians welcome China’s initiative to host a peace symposium to be attended by Israeli and Palestinian peace activists within this year.
“This initiative is accepted and welcomed as it represents support for the international efforts to push forward the peace talks that will lead to implementation of the two-state solution,” Rahim said.
A just peace in the Middle East needs to be achieved to confront the rise in terrorism, because terrorists often use the subject of Israeli occupation to justify their crimes, Rahim pointed out.
But in the past 20 years, there have been just talks for the sake of talks between Israel and the Palestinians, without achieving major results. The only benefit was Israel’s expansion of settlement, which damages the two-state solution, he said.
Rahim believed that China’s moves will also motivate other countries to revitalize their efforts to advance the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, Rahim added.
“China can be a honest broker for its political and economic status… because it has no selfish motivation and only wants to establish stability in the region,” he said.
—Xinhua
by admin | May 25, 2021 | World
Beijing, (NNN-XINHUA) : China and Uruguay have pledged to boost economic and political cooperation via parliamentary exchanges.
The pledge came as top Chinese legislator Zhang Dejiang held talks with Gerardo Amarilla, president of Chamber of Representatives of Uruguay’s National Congress at the Great Hall of the People in downtown Beijing Monday.
Hailing the development of bilateral ties over the past 29 years, Zhang, who is Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), said China’s NPC attached great importance to the co-operation with the South American country’s National Congress.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Uruguayan counterpart Tabare Vazquez agreed in October last year to establish a strategic partnership based on respect, equality and mutual benefit during Vazquez’s State visit to China.
Zhang said the fact that the delegation included two presidents-designate of the Chamber of Representatives showed “the high consensus and willingness among different political parties of Uruguay to develop relations with China”.
Zhang called on both sides to take the talks here Monday as a new starting point to further promote bilateral exchanges. He suggested the two sides treat each other sincerely and increase mutual understanding of each other’s development paths, major concerns and core interests.
Both sides needed to speed up the approval process of bilateral deals, support the signing of free trade agreement and create sound environment for conducting cooperation on financing and major projects, he added.
He also encouraged the two countries to promote cultural and people-to-people exchanges and sharing experiences on state governance.
Amarilla said Uruguay valued the relations with China and had always adhered to the one-China policy. Uruguay expects to become an important pivot of China’s Belt and Road construction and conduct complementary co-operation, he added.
The national congress is willing to expand exchanges with China’s NPC so as to enrich the content of the bilateral strategic partnership, he said.
Also on Monday, Yu Zhengsheng, top Chinese political adviser, met with Amarilla. Yu, the chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), appreciated the understanding and support that Uruguay has always given to China on issues that matters China’s core interests, including the Taiwan issue, and Tibet-related issues and Xinjiang-related issues.
Amarilla arrived in Beijing on Sunday to start a week-long visit at the invitation of Zhang.
by admin | May 25, 2021 | World
BEIJING: Chinese officials have restricted civil servants, students and children in a mainly Muslim region from fasting during Ramadan, government websites said as the holy month began on Monday.
The country’s ruling Communist party is officially atheist and for years has banned government employees and minors from fasting in Xinjiang, home to the more than 10 million-strong mostly Muslim Uighur minority.
It has also ordered some restaurants to stay open.
Dilxat Raxit of the World Uighur Congress, an exile group, condemned the restrictions in an e-mail Monday, adding: “China thinks that the Islamic faith of Uighurs threatens the rule of the Beijing leadership.”
A Uighur official in the city’s Tiekeqi township named Ahmatjan Tohti told a meeting on Monday last week that officials should “resolutely stop party members, civil servants, students and minors from entering mosques for religious activities” during the month, according to a separate report on the website.
A website run by the education bureau of Shuimogou district in the regional capital Urumqi posted a notice on Monday last week calling for “prevention of students and teachers from all schools from entering mosques for religious activities” during Ramadan.
Several local government departments in Xinjiang have posted notices on their websites in the last week ordering restrictions on fasting.
“Party members, cadres, civil servants, students and minors must not fast for Ramadan and must not take part in religious activities,” said a notice on the official website of the city of Korla in central Xinjiang. “During the Ramadan month, food and drink businesses must not close.”
(courtesy:http://www.arabnews.com)
by admin | May 25, 2021 | World
Beijing (IANS) Morocco has decided to exempt Chinese nationals from having visa to enter the north African country from June 2016.
This was announced by visiting Moroccan monarch, King Mohammed VI, during his talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People here on Wednesday.
Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Salaheddine Mezouar explained that the decision follows the King’s desire to deepen and diversify Moroccan-Chinese relations, and Morocco’s keenness to open up for more bilateral humanitarian, cultural, economic and political exchanges, according to Moroccan news agency MAP.
The Moroccan monarch, who is on an official visit to the China, also inked a joint statement on the establishment of a strategic partnership between the two countries.
Both leaders also presided over the signing ceremony of several cooperation documents related to the legal, economic, financial, industrial, cultural, tourist, energy, infrastructure and consular sectors.
China has already made deep inroads into Africa with a slew of major infrastructure projects and aid programmes as it mines the 54-nation continent for energy and minerals to meet its unending requirements.
by admin | May 25, 2021 | World
Kathmandu (IANS) A team of Chinese experts on Sunday launched a study on prospects for minerals, gas and oil at Shreesthan in Dailekh, a western district of Nepal, which, officials claim, holds petroleum products in abundance.
It is after a gap of two decades that the Nepal government has allowed Chinese geologists to begin hydrocarbon exploration in the western part of the country in a bid to become self-reliant.
Six Chinese experts are involved in the exploration bid, according to a government statement issued here.
The Chinese team will carry out the feasibility study on all 10 petroleum blocks in Nepal sprawled from east to west.
The Chinese team will report its findings in about a month on the exploration prospects apart from the amount of petroleum products that could be harnessed in the district.
The study comes in the wake of an agreement between Nepal and China during Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli’s visit to the communist country in March, said Minister for Industry Som Prasad Pandey, who kick-started the exploration venture.
Under the agreement, China was also to help in the construction of at least three petroleum reservoirs in Nepal.
China will also extend technical and financial help to Nepal in exploration.
Nepal began exploring for hydrocarbons some three decade ago and awarded several contracts to international firms. But the attempts were not a success due to lack of political will and adequate budget.
