Palestine assured of China's 'firm support'

Vice-Premier Liu Yandong voiced China's firm support for the Palestinian people on Thursday.

China "will support without hesitation" any solution that is conducive to resuming peace talks and achieving peaceful co-existence between Palestine and Israel, Liu said as she met with Palestinian leaders in the West Bank city of Ramallah. She was on the final stop of a trip to Egypt, Israel and Palestine from March 25 to Thursday.

While meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Liu said her visit was meant to further implement the measures proposed by President Xi Jinping in a Middle East policy speech on Jan 21.

In the speech at the Cairo headquarters of the League of Arab States, Xi said that "it is the common responsibility of the international community to safeguard the legitimate national rights and interests of the people of Palestine", adding that "the Palestinian issue should not be marginalized".

Xi urged the world to not only push for resumption of talks and implementation of agreements, but also to adhere to principles and uphold justice.

Abbas said he was honored and delighted by Liu's visit, adding that Palestine appreciates Xi's stance on the Palestine issue and supports achieving peace through talks.

As Liu and Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah watched, representatives of the two governments signed an agreement to help build solar power plants in Palestine.

Wu Bingbing, a professor of Middle East studies at Peking University, said the Thursday meetings and the documents that were signed "display Beijing's renewed attention to the Palestine issue".

Strengthening cooperation is a "pragmatic choice" for improving people's livelihoods in Palestine and "will facilitate the ultimate political settlement of the issue", Wu said.

Liu visited Faisal al-Husseine Basic School for Girls in Ramallah and presented a certificate stating China's plans to donate teaching facilities and supplies to the school.

Liu observed a lesson about China in a ninth-grade classroom.

School Principal Samar Samara said she hoped Liu's visit will boost efforts to build friendly ties between schools in both countries.

zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 04/01/2016 page3)