Beijing’s response to the intensifying violence has been more subdued China approaches diplomacy while Western leaders hastily go to the Middle East.
In July, a spokesman for the Chinese embassy expressed optimism that Beijing was prepared to facilitate peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. At the time, there were hopes that the warming relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran would lead to a “wave of reconciliation” throughout the Middle East.
Chinese President Xi Jinping invited Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu to visit China the month before and welcomed Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the Palestinian Authority, to Beijing.
Many people focused on China’s involvement in the détente between Saudi Arabia and Iran, viewing it as a turning point that showed China’s influence was growing in the area while that of the United States was diminishing.
Then, on October 7, a surprise attack on Israel by the militant group Hamas resulted in at least 1,400 deaths and more than 200 kidnappings. In response, Israel has attacked the blockaded Gaza region ceaselessly with artillery fire and most lately with ground assaults into the Hamas-controlled coastal strip.
US President Joe Biden swiftly denounced the attack by Hamas, and his government subsequently prepared the deployment of 2,000 troops to prevent any other parties from escalating the conflict in the area and dispatched two carrier strike groups to the eastern Mediterranean.
