On the afternoon of December 8 local time, President Xi Jinping met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Riyadh. 

President Xi pointed out that China-Palestine friendship is deeply cherished by the two peoples. Over the past five decades and more, the two sides have always trusted and supported each other. No matter how the international and regional situation changes, China always firmly supports the just cause of the Palestinian people to restore the legitimate rights and interests of their nation, and always stands with the Palestinian people. The international community should prioritize the Palestinian issue on the international agenda, keep to the direction of the two-state solution and the principle of “land for peace”, and facilitate resumption of peace talks on the basis of relevant UN resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative. China will continue to work for an early, just and durable solution to the Palestinian issue.

Noting the 35th anniversary of China-Palestine relations next year, President Xi emphasized the need for the two sides to make good plans for celebrating the anniversary. The two countries signed a tourism cooperation document, actively advanced negotiations for a China-Palestine free trade agreement and successfully held the second session of the Chinese-Palestinian Joint Committee for Economic, Trade and Technical Cooperation. China has provided a large amount of vaccines and other anti-COVID supplies to Palestinian refugees, and will continue to do what it can to help Palestine develop its economy and improve people’s well-being. China commends Palestine’s active participation in and efforts to promote the collective cooperation between China and Arab states, and will increase communication and cooperation with Palestine on advancing China-Arab relations and delivering the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative.

President Abbas said that the Palestinian people are deeply proud of their friendly relations with the Chinese people. China is Palestine’s sincere and trustworthy friend and has always firmly supported the just cause of the Palestinian people by offering Palestine all-round and unconditional support on the political, economic, moral and other fronts. All Palestinian people hold sincere affections for the Chinese people. China’s positions on the international stage are fair and just, and its initiatives and propositions are positive and constructive. Palestine stands firmly with China. Abbas reaffirmed Palestine’s steadfast commitment to the one-China principle and firm support for China’s just position on issues related to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Xinjiang. Palestine firmly supports and actively participates in Belt and Road cooperation and stands ready to work with China to continue strengthening cooperation in all areas. Palestine looks forward to working with China to make tomorrow’s first China-Arab States Summit a success. 

Ding Xuexiang, Wang Yi and He Lifeng were present at the meeting.