Tag: Middle East

Employee at Israeli Embassy in China Stabbed; Foreign Suspect Detained

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BEIJING —  A 50-year-old Israeli man who works at the Israeli Embassy in Beijing was stabbed on Friday in front of a supermarket, Chinese police and the Israeli government said. Beijing police said they had arrested a suspect, a 53-year-old foreign man. They said the victim is a family member of an Israeli diplomat. No motive was given for the attack. “The employee was transferred to hospital and he is in a stable condition,” an Israeli government statement said, without giving additional details. The incident came after Israel criticized China’s…

Israel-Hamas Conflict Challenges China’s Diplomatic Efforts in Middle East: Analysts

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TAIPEI, TAIWAN —  The conflict between Israel and Hamas is prompting increased scrutiny of China’s role as a potential mediator in the Middle East. Analysts say the vagueness of Beijing’s condemnation of the terrorist attacks on Israel is consistent with China’s policy of noninterference in global conflicts and reflects the limit of Beijing’s diplomatic efforts in the Middle East. “China offers these lofty rhetorics and peace plans, but it doesn’t put the weight that countries need to put behind to make these rhetorics and plans happen,” said Raffaello Pantucci, senior…

US Senate Majority Leader Schumer Meets Xi and Welcomes Stronger Chinese Statement on Hamas Attack

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BEIJING —  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Schumer said Monday he was grateful for a strengthened statement from China condemning the killing and kidnapping of Israeli and foreign civilians by Hamas, issued during a bipartisan congressional visit to Beijing that included a lengthy meeting with President Xi Jinping. Schumer led a delegation of six senators to China for talks aimed at stabilizing ties following a sharp deterioration in recent years over trade, U.S. support for self-governing Taiwan, human rights and other issues. The delegation, which included three Democrats and three Republicans,…

Israel Urges China to Show Solidarity After Beijing Fails to Condemn Hamas Attacks

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Washington —  China’s foreign ministry Sunday responded to the surprise attack by Hamas militants on Israel by calling on all sides to exercise restraint, echoing Russia’s position. “China is deeply concerned over the current escalation of tensions and violence between Palestine and Israel. We call on relevant parties to remain calm, exercise restraint and immediately end the hostilities to protect civilians and avoid further deterioration of the situation,” said a spokesperson from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “The fundamental way out of the conflict lies in implementing the two-state solution…

Syrian President in China on First Visit Since Beginning of War in Syria

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BEIJING —  Syrian President Bashar Assad arrived in China on Thursday on his first visit to the country since the start of Syria’s 12-year conflict during which Beijing has been one of his main backers. China’s foreign ministry said Assad would attend the opening ceremony of the Asian Games, an international sports event beginning Saturday in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou. Assad’s office said earlier that the Syrian leader was invited by Chinese President Xi Jinping for a summit and would bring with him a high-ranking Syrian delegation. China…

Ukraine Invites Talks in Saudi Arabia as an Effort to Weaken Russia

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Ukraine will make a renewed push this weekend at a gathering in Saudi Arabia to win the support of dozens of countries that have remained on the sidelines of the war — the start of a broader campaign in the months ahead to build the diplomatic muscle to isolate and weaken Russia. Ukraine and Saudi Arabia invited diplomats from some 40 governments to talks in the Red Sea port of Jeddah. Notable among them were China, India, Brazil, South Africa and some of the oil-rich Gulf nations that have tried…

Extreme Heat Grips 3 Continents as Climate Change Warms Earth

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Punishing heat waves gripped three continents on Tuesday, breaking records in cities around the Northern Hemisphere less than two weeks after the Earth recorded what scientists said were likely its hottest days in modern history. Firefighters in Greece scrambled to put out wildfires, as parched conditions raised the risk of more blazes throughout Europe. Beijing logged another day of 95-degree heat, and people Hangzhou, another Chinese city, compared the choking conditions to a sauna. From the Middle East to the American Southwest, delivery drivers, airport workers and construction crews labored…

Iran Seeks Boost as SCO Member but Faces Domestic, Organizational Hurdles, Analysts Say

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Iran got a small measure of relief from its isolation by the West this month by joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization of Eurasian nations. But analysts based in Iran and the U.S. say Tehran faces significant obstacles to benefit from its SCO membership. Tehran became the SCO’s ninth member on July 4, when Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi participated in a virtual SCO summit hosted by India. It was an upgrade from the observer status that Iran had held with the group since 2005. Along with India, the other SCO members…

Experts: China Faces Uphill Battle Brokering Peace Between Israel and Palestinians

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China’s attempt to strike peace between Israelis and Palestinians is likely to fail but could create an image that U.S. influence in the region is waning, experts said, even as Beijing is optimistic it could resurrect talks that have been stalled for nearly a decade. China brokered a peace deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran in March that restored diplomatic ties that were severed in 2016. Now Beijing is trying to replicate the achievement with Israel and the Palestinians, whose U.S.-brokered negotiations have been frozen since 2014. “I believe China…

Troubled New Power Plant Leaves Jordan in Debt to China, Raising Concerns Over Beijing’s Influence

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ATTARAT, Jordan —  Jordan’s Attarat power plant was envisioned as a landmark project promising to provide the desert kingdom with a major source of energy while solidifying its relations with China. But weeks after its official opening, the site, a sea of black, crumbly rock in the barren desert south of Jordan’s capital, is instead a source of heated controversy. Deals surrounding the plant put Jordan on the hook for billions of dollars in debt to China — all for a plant that is no longer needed for its energy,…