For over 70 years, a Zionist organization shaped by the ideology of “promised land,” far beyond being a mere human tragedy, has been conducting ongoing occupations and massacres. On the morning of October 8th, Palestinians defending their homeland responded with “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.” The supposedly impregnable Iron Dome was breached, and a nation asserting its right to legitimate resistance became a beacon of hope not only for Palestinians but for all oppressed nations worldwide.
While Western media outlets continue to describe the event with terms like “Shocking attack,” “The end of Netanyahu’s political career,” “Collapse of the US’s Israel policy,” “Major intelligence failure,” “The end of arrogance and overconfidence,” this article aims to explore the People’s Republic of China’s perspective on the Palestine issue throughout history and the impact of China’s active foreign policy changes, especially in West Asia.
IS PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE WITH ISRAEL POSSIBLE?
In December 1953, Zhou Enlai, a key figure of the Chinese revolution and then Prime Minister of China, presented the “Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence” to the world after meeting with his counterparts from India. Initially intended for bilateral relations between China and India, these principles attracted the interest of oppressed nations and were adopted at the Asian-African Conference held in Bandung, Indonesia, in 1955, leading to the Non-Aligned Movement. Thus, the five principles proposed by Zhou Enlai and China became significant norms that, except for a handful of imperialists, the majority of the world’s population embraced as the foundation of new international relations. Consequently, in 1970, the United Nations General Assembly was compelled to adopt the “Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States.”
The search for a more equal and just world for the oppressed nations entered a new phase in the 21st century, particularly with the rise of Asian countries, including China. Although we will not delve into the origins and problems created by the state established by Israel through occupation of Palestinian lands with the intervention of the UN after World War II, the pressing question remains: How possible is it to live in peace with a structure that has been a “state” of massacre ideology for decades?
THE PALESTINE LIBERATION ORGANIZATION AND CHINA
Regarding the Israel-Palestine issue, China stood as one of the foremost defenders of the Palestinian cause until the 1980s. China was the first non-Arab foreign country to send an official invitation to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and recognize it as the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, granting it all diplomatic privileges accorded to foreign embassies in Beijing, thereby helping to strengthen the organization’s international stance. Western media of the time even claimed that the PLO received ideological and military training during Mao’s era.1
Representatives of the PLO and Fatah met with Chinese officials several times from the 1960s to the early 2000s, with Yasser Arafat visiting China 14 times between 1964 and 2001. The Peking Review frequently published articles by PLO and Fatah leadership, where Arafat described China as having the most significant impact in supporting and strengthening their revolution.2
It’s worth noting that the PLO opened a liaison office in Beijing during this period.
MAO: ISRAEL AND TAIWAN WERE CREATED AGAINST US
During a 1965 visit by the PLO, Mao Zedong famously stated, “Imperialism is afraid of China and the Arabs. Israel and Formosa [Taiwan] are imperialism’s bases in Asia. You are the front door of this great continent, and we are the back door. They created Israel for you and Formosa for us. The West does not like us, and we must understand this reality. The Arabs’ fight against the West is a fight against Israel.”3
Even amidst increasing tensions between the USSR and China in the 1970s, China’s support for Palestine continued. For example, in 1976, during a UN session on the “Palestine Problem,” China’s first permanent representative to the UN, Huang Hua, emphasized China’s unwavering support for Palestine and other Arab peoples in their just struggle to regain their national rights and recover lost territories, firmly condemning Zionist aggression by Israel and opposing superpower conflicts and expansions in the Middle East.4
This support was also evident among the Chinese people, with Palestine Solidarity Day demonstrations starting on May 15, 1965, and continuing annually until 1971. Following the deaths of Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai in the late 1970s, China shifted its policy, adopting a more moderate stance towards Israel. International developments such as Egyptian President Anwar Sadat’s visit to Israel in 1977, the Fez Plan, the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty, and the Madrid Conference influenced China’s change in position. In 1989, China made its first direct international intervention in a conflict in West Asia by considering both sides of the Palestine-Israel issue. This year marked China’s proposal of a five-point peace plan for the Palestine-Israel issue. However, full diplomatic relations between China and Israel were not established until 1992. Following this, the two countries opened embassies and developed technological and economic relations, particularly in defense.
THE NEW INTERNATIONAL ORDER AND PALESTINE
The US’s 2022 National Security Strategy describes China as the only state with the intent and the economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to change the international order.5
Despite China’s post-Mao strategy of focusing on economic development while avoiding confrontation, recent geopolitical shifts and the US’s increasingly hostile stance towards China remind China of the necessity imposed by history. For instance, after the US withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021, Taliban officials were hosted in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People. Leaders from Iran and Saudi Arabia met with Xi Jinping, and their foreign ministers convened in Beijing to resume diplomatic relations suspended for seven years. In the West’s view, China’s stance on the Russia-Ukraine issue has been that of providing economic and diplomatic refuge to Russia and avoiding condemnation, creating problems. China’s 12-point proposal to end the war in Ukraine was criticized by Ukraine and the West for allegedly granting territorial gains to Russia. Xi Jinping’s “Great Power Diplomacy” and the Belt and Road Initiative have undeniably influenced these developments. During Mahmoud Abbas’s visit to Beijing in 2017 and again in June 2023, Xi reiterated China’s support for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital and a two-state solution, along with the cessation of new settlement constructions by Israel as per UN Resolution 2334 and the prompt resumption of peace talks.6
Moreover, China has been trying to encourage Israel and Palestine to end their conflict by participating together in the Belt and Road Initiative’s development model. However, convincing the Zionist regime in Israel to make peace does not compare to bringing Iran and Saudi Arabia together. Recent developments have likely led Chinese policymakers to realize this, as the Chinese Foreign Ministry did not unilaterally condemn HAMAS on Monday, contrary to Western expectations, and stated that the solution lies in establishing an independent Palestine.7
We are in an era where US hegemony is declining, and the world is moving towards a multipolar structure. Yet, oppressed nations still face a long and challenging path ahead. The Palestine issue, especially in West Asia and in global geopolitics, will find its resolution in the struggle against the Zionist regime. The rising world must understand, as Mao said, that the loss of Israel’s power in the region will not only benefit the Palestinians but will also strengthen Eurasian forces from the Eastern Mediterranean to the South China Sea. The US is aware of this and hence deploys aircraft carriers to the region. Ukraine has declared full support for Israel, and Israeli flags have been raised on public buildings by the Kiev regime. The anti-China separatist administration in Taiwan has also sided with Israel, condemning HAMAS.8
The warships the US sends to the region threaten not only Palestine but also developing countries from the Eastern Mediterranean through the Strait of Hormuz to the South China Sea. The developing world must respond collectively to this common threat.
- https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2019-08-04/ty-article-magazine/.premium/how-china-became-the-palestinians-biggest-ally-in-the-1960s/0000017f-f8f1-d2d5-a9ff-f8fd50cc0000 ↩︎
- Harris, L. C. (1977). China’s Relations with the PLO. Journal of Palestine Studies, 7(1), 123–154. ↩︎
- Arab World (Beirut), “Mao Tse-tung Urges Arabs Boycott West,” April 6, 1965. ↩︎
- https://www.un.org/unispal/document/auto-insert-181423/ ↩︎
- https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Biden-Harris-Administrations-National-Security-Strategy-10.2022.pdf ↩︎
- https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/wjdt_665385/wshd_665389/202306/t20230618_11099414.html ↩︎
- https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/202310/t20231008_11157299.html ↩︎
- https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2023/10/09/2003807416 ↩︎
