China Hosting Mideast Peace Forum      06/18 07:30

   BEIJING (AP) -- The Palestinian envoy to the United Nations praised China's 
growing involvement in the Mideast peace process, saying it enhances the 
efforts of other nations and should continue to expand.

   Riyad Mansour made the comments Tuesday during a U.N. conference hosted by 
China that is promoting a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian 
conflict. The two-day forum is part of Beijing's quest for greater diplomatic 
influence in a region of growing importance to its economy.

   "We believe that China is a very important political force that can 
contribute in a constructive and positive way to all other efforts exerted by 
many other political actors," Mansour told reporters in Beijing.

   The conference is part of a regular series of United Nations-sponsored 
discussions involving U.N. officials, diplomats, academics, and present and 
former members of the Palestinian and Israeli parliaments.

   While it isn't expected to produce any concrete outcome, the meeting 
underscores China's attempt to balance its support for the Palestinian cause 
and heavy reliance on Saudi oil with its pursuit of Israeli high-tech imports 
and know-how in areas from paramilitary training to water management.

   That search for balance was demonstrated last month when Palestinian leader 
Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu made state visits to 
China during the same week.

   While Abbas' visit was brief and largely ceremonial, Netanyahu stayed for 
five days, including a visit to the commercial hub of Shanghai, and oversaw the 
signing of a raft of business deals to expand China and Israel's $8 billion 
two-way trade.

   China launched its greater involvement in the Mideast with the appointment 
of a special envoy for the region in 2009, and has sought to maintain contact 
with most mainstream political groupings without actually becoming embroiled in 
talks.

   That approach seems to satisfy Beijing's desire to seek a higher diplomatic 
profile without alienating any of the parties in the region, analysts say.

   "It has been, however, very important for Beijing to be recognized, and 
respected, as one of the leading great global powers not only in the formal 
sense, as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, but also as an 
active one," said Yitzhak Shichor, a China expert at Israel's University of 
Haifa.

   Shichor said Beijing's hosting of the U.N. meeting may also be a response to 
Arab desires for China to counterbalance U.S. support for Israel in the 
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as an attempt to counter the harsh 
criticism China has come under for blocking U.S. efforts to mitigate the 
bloodshed in Syria.

   China, however, would likely prefer to see the U.S., Russia, and others do 
the heavy diplomatic lifting, Shichor said. Beijing also remains constrained by 
a lack of detailed knowledge of the conflicts and is distrusted by Israel for 
its strong support for the Palestinians, he said.

   "The Middle East is far not only in geographical terms but also in cultural, 
religious, ethnic and political terms," Shichor said.

   In earlier remarks, China's top delegate to the forum, Assistant Foreign 
Minister Ma Zhaoxu, reiterated that China supports the "just cause of the 
Palestinian people and Palestinian-Israeli peace process."

   He said the immediate priority is to stop construction of new Israeli 
settlements in the West Bank, end violence against civilians, lift the Israeli 
blockade of the Gaza Strip, and "properly handle" the issue of Palestinian 
prisoners held by Israel.

   China extended diplomatic recognition to the Palestinian Authority in 1988 
--- four years before recognizing Israel --- and has consistently backed 
efforts to boost Palestine's status at the U.N.

   However, it has also striven for closer ties with Israel, something Mansour 
said was to be welcomed, since that gives China the advantage of having good 
relations with both sides in the conflict "to contribute to the efforts by 
others especially at this particular moment."

   Earlier Tuesday, Mansour and other forum participants met with Chinese 
Foreign Minister Wang Yi and other officials. He said they heard a "very 
positive articulation by the Chinese government and readiness and willingness 
to cooperate with all those who are influencing events in the Middle East with 
the objective of trying to find a solution to this conflict."


(KA)