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Washington: In the midst of two active and potentially world-changing conflicts in the Middle East and Europe, the US is hoping to find at least a small measure of common ground with China as China’s top diplomat visits Washington this week.

Over three days of meetings that begin Thursday, top Biden administration officials, including possibly the president himself, will press Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the importance of China stepping up its role on the world stage if it wants to be considered a responsible major international player.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, are both expected to urge China to play a constructive role in both the Israel-Hamas and Russia-Ukraine wars. Those meetings could set the stage for a summit between President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping next month on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum leaders gathering in San Francisco.

The US has been disappointed with China over its support for Russia in the war against Ukraine and its relative silence on the Middle East. In addition, the world's two largest economies are at odds on issues such as human rights, climate change, Taiwan, the South China Sea and North Korea.

Still, both sides have expressed a willingness to talk with each other since Blinken canceled a planned visit to China in February after the shootdown of a Chinese spy balloon over the U.S., which marked a low point in recent relations.

In the months that followed that crisis, however, Blinken rescheduled his trip and went to China in June. He was followed in quick succession by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, climate envoy John Kerry and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

In addition, Sullivan met with Wang in Malta in mid-September ahead of Blinken's discussions with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng later that month on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. And Blinken spoke just last week with Wang about the Israel-Hamas crisis.

The goal, according to U.S. officials, is to set the stage for another Biden-Xi summit at which the two leaders could explore cooperation or at least easing outright hostility on the most pressing matters of the day.

“Wang Yi’s visit will serve as one of the final touchpoints in laying the groundwork” for the Biden-Xi meeting, said Ryan Hass, director of the John L. Thornton China Center at the Brookings Institute, a Washington-based think tank. “Wang’s meetings in Washington will set the contours for the topics the two leaders will discuss when they meet in November.”

“It opens the possibility of the world’s two largest powers pursuing coordinated efforts to limit escalation or expansion of violence in Ukraine and the Middle East,” he said.

Yun Sun, director of the China Program at the Stimson Center, another Washington think tank, said Wang's trip signals that the Xi-Biden summit is almost certain.

“Wang is here to pave the ground for Xi's San Francisco trip. That’s the core focus of the trip. It means issues will be negotiated, solutions will be discussed and details will be deliberated and inked,” Sun said. “The APEC summit is 20 days away, so time is of essence. His trip means that Xi is coming. Xi’s coming means meeting with Biden. The Xi-Biden summit means efforts to stabilize bilateral ties.”

Scott Kennedy, senior adviser and trustee chair in Chinese business and economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said Wang’s trip could yield results such as additional direct flights between the two countries, visas for more journalists and even agreements on climate change and resumption of high-level military dialogue.

But while it is important for Wang and the Americans to discuss points of contention in the Indo-Pacific region and elsewhere, Kennedy said it is unlikely the two sides will reach much agreement.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said Wang will “have in-depth exchanges of views” with US officials on a range of issues and “state China’s principled position and legitimate concerns” on relations between the two countries.

The Chinese president last came to the US in 2017, when former President Donald Trump hosted him at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Biden, who took office in 2021, has yet to host Xi on US soil. The two men last met in Bali, Indonesia, in November 2022, on the sidelines of the Group of 20 meeting of leading rich and developing nations.

Wang's trip is one of a string of meetings and activities to warm up Xi's visit to the US.

California Gov Gavin Newsom, who is visiting China this week, had a surprise meeting with Xi on Wednesday in Beijing. The Chinese president told the governor that “the achievements of China-US relations have not come easily and should be cherished all the more,” according to the official news agency Xinhua.

Earlier this month, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer led a delegation of six senators to China, in the first visit by US lawmakers since 2019. Schumer was also received by Xi, who said the Thucydides Trap is “not inevitable.” The Thucydides Trap is a political term for the tendency of major clashes when an emerging power challenges an existing power.

The US-China relationship began to sour in 2018 when the Trump administration slapped hefty tariffs on $50bn worth of Chinese goods. It deteriorated further over a range of issues, including rights abuses, the South China Sea, Taiwan, technology and the Covid-19 pandemic.

AP

Beijing: Breaking its silence on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning on Tuesday said Beijing hoped that the issue would be resolved in a "just and lasting manner" on the basis of the "two-state solution."

Addressing a press briefing in the Chinese capital, Beijing, on Tuesday, Mao said, "We sincerely hope that the Palestinian question will be resolved in a comprehensive, just and lasting manner on the basis of the two-state solution. On the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, our position is highly consistent with that of the Arab states."

Condemning the atrocities on civilians on both sides, she said her country was opposed to any violation of international law.

Stressing the need to protect civilians amid the ongoing conflict, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the supply of humanitarian aid to Gaza was critical to preventing an ever-worsening humanitarian disaster.

"We all hope that the fighting will stop as soon as possible in order to prevent the situation from escalating or even spiraling out of control. We oppose acts that harm civilians and oppose any violation of international law and call for protecting civilians and providing humanitarian aid to prevent an even worse humanitarian disaster," Mao said at the briefing.

Coming out in support of a two-state solution, she said, we support the "realization of Palestinian people's right to statehood and survival and their right of return, which we believe is the only viable way out of the Palestinian question".

She also called for a "more authoritative, influential and broad-based international peace conference to be held as soon as possible, an early resumption of peace talks and formulation of a timetable and roadmap to that end".

The spokesperson added that since the beginning of the "Israel-Palestine conflict", China has maintained close communication with relevant parties, "actively participated in the consultations at the UN Security Council, and has made every effort to promote peace talks and help de-escalate the situation".

"The international community, especially the many Arab countries, commends China's just position and the role it has played as a responsible major country," she added.

She stated that China will firmly support all efforts that are "conducive to dialogue, ceasefire and peace and will do its best on everything conducive to the implementation of the two-state solution and a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement of the Palestinian question".

China was ready to work together with the international community to "make relentless efforts to that end", she added. 

ANI

Israel vowed again to destroy Hamas, rejecting calls for a cease-fire from the UN chief, the Palestinians and many countries at a high-level UN meeting on Tuesday and declaring that the war in Gaza is not only its war but “the war of the free world.”

Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen also dismissed calls for “proportionality” in the country’s response to Hamas’ surprise attacks on Israel on Oct 7 that killed 1,400 people and has since led to more than 5,700 Palestinian deaths in Gaza according to its Health Ministry.

“Tell me, what is a proportionate response for killing of babies, for rape (of) women and burn them, for beheading a child?” Cohen asked. “How can you agree to a cease-fire with someone who swore to kill and destroy your own existence?”

He told the UN Security Council that the proportionate response to the Oct 7 massacre is “a total destruction to the last one of Hamas,” calling the extremist group “the new Nazis.” He stressed: “It is not only Israel’s right to destroy Hamas. It’s our duty.”

Cohen called the Oct 7 attacks “a wake-up call for the entire free world” against extremism, and he urged “the civilized world to stand united behind Israel to defeat Hamas.”

And he warned that today it is Israel, and tomorrow Hamas and the attackers “will be at everyone’s doorstep,” starting with the West.

Cohen also accused Qatar of financing Hamas and said the fate of the more than 200 hostages taken from Israel, some of whose families came to the UN meeting, was in the hands of its emir.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki demanded an end to the Israeli attacks.

“We are here today to stop the killing, to stop … the ongoing massacres being deliberately and systematically and savagely perpetrated by Israel, the occupying power, against the Palestinian civilian population,” he said. “Over 2m Palestinians are on a survival mission every day, every night.”

Under international law, he said “it is our collective human duty to stop them.”

Al-Maliki warned that more attacks and killings and weapons and alliances won’t make Israel safer: “Only peace will.”

“For those actively engaged to avoid an even greater humanitarian catastrophe and regional spillover, it must be clear that this can only be achieved by putting an immediate end to the Israeli war launched against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip,” he said. “Stop the bloodshed.”

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres opened the monthly meeting on the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict—which has turned into a major event with ministers from the war’s key parties and a dozen other countries flying to New York—warning that “the situation in the Middle East is growing more dire by the hour.”

As the council met, a barrage of Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip crushed multiple residential buildings and buried families under rubble. Nearly 90 countries were on the speakers list including about 30 foreign ministers and deputy ministers, many echoing calls for a cease-fire and halt to attacks on Palestinian civilians.

The UN chief said the risk of the Gaza war spreading through the region is increasing as societies splinter and tensions threaten to boil over. He called for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire to deliver desperately needed food, water, medicine and fuel. He also appealed “to all to pull back from the brink before the violence claims even more lives and spreads even farther.”

Guterres stressed that the rules of war must be obeyed.

He said the grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify “the horrifying and unprecedented Oct 7 acts of terror” by Hamas in Israel and demanded the immediate release of all hostages.

But Guterres also stressed that “those appalling attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.”

He expressed deep concern at “the clear violations of international humanitarian law,” calling Israel’s constant bombardment of Gaza and the level of destruction and civilian casualties “alarming.”

Protecting civilians “is paramount in any armed conflict,” he said.

Without naming Hamas, the UN chief stressed that “protecting civilians can never mean using them as human shields.”

Guterres also criticized Israel without naming it, saying “protecting civilians does not mean ordering more than one million people to evacuate to the south, where there is no shelter, no food, no water, no medicine and no fuel, and then continuing to bomb the south itself.”

Cohen, in his address to the council, criticized the secretary-general’s remarks. After being told by a reporter at a stakeout later that the secretary-general stood by his statement, the Israeli minister said: “There is no cause for this, and shame on him.”

Israel’s UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan went further, taking issue especially with Guterres’ statement that it’s important to recognize that “the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum.”

He accused the secretary-general of having lost “all morality and impartiality” and called for his resignation.

By contrast, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking for Israel's closest ally, thanked the UN chief “for your leadership in this incredibly challenging time, particularly in getting humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza.”

He stressed Israel's right to defend itself “against terrorism” but also called for protection of Palestinian civilians saying: “We know Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people and Palestinian civilians are not to blame for the carnage committed by Hamas.”

He said “Israel must take all possible precautions to avoid harm to civilians” and “humanitarian pauses” must be considered to get aid flowing into Gaza and enable civilians “to get out of harm’s way.”

Blinken told the council all countries are determined to prevent the conflict from spreading, saying a broader conflict “would be devastating, not only for Palestinians and Israelis but for people across the region and indeed around the world.”

He warned Iran—which supports Hamas, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen—that while the US doesn't seek a conflict, it will respond “swiftly and decisively” to any attack on US personnel by its forces or its proxies anywhere in the world.

Iran’s UN Ambassador Amir Iravani later accused Blinken of “wrongly” attempting to blame Iran for the Hamas attack, rejecting his “groundless allegations” and saying the Islamic Republic is committed to regional peace and security, and supports the call for an immediate cease-fire.

He echoed secretary-general Guterres’ statement that the Oct. 7 attack didn’t happen in a vacuum and claimed the US’ “unwavering support” for Israel and its rapid provision of military and logistical support “made the US complicit in the brutal massacre of innocent Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.”

Iravani also claimed that Israel, as an occupying power, has no right to self-defense in Gaza under the UN Charter. But he said the Charter does recognize the right to self-determination and self-defense for the Palestinian people, which Iran supports, “including resistance groups like Hamas, in the struggle against Israeli occupation.”

The United States is pushing for adoption of a resolution that would condemn the Hamas attacks in Israel and violence against civilians, and reaffirm Israel’s right to self-defense. There were some expectations that it might be voted on Tuesday, but diplomats said it was still being negotiated.

Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the council Moscow rejects the US draft and is demanding an immediate ceasefire. The US draft does not mention a cease-fire and Nebenzia said Russia is putting forward its own new proposed resolution.

Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, speaking on behalf of the 22-member Arab Group at the United Nations, accused Israel of waging a war that is killing innocent civilians and “razing Gaza to the ground” in violation of international law “without any deterrent.”

“And the Security Council didn't even call for a cease-fire,” he said, urging the UN body charged with maintaining international peace and security to adopt a resolution to stop the war, condemn the killing of civilians on both sides, and prevent the starvation of Palestinians and their collective punishment.

“The Security Council must take a clear stance to reassure 2bn Arabs and Muslims that international law will be applied,” Safadi said.

AP

Islamabad: Three-time Pakistani prime minister and graft convict Nawaz Sharif appeared in court Tuesday for the first time since returning from self-imposed exile, bidding to clear his name and contest elections due early next year. Sharif left Pakistan in 2019 part way through a jail sentence to seek medical care in the United Kingdom, ignoring multiple court orders to return under the government of Imran Khan.

But with Khan in custody and out of favor with the military, Sharif has launched yet another political comeback ahead of elections slated for Jan 2024. Supporters showered Sharif with petals on Tuesday as he arrived at a graft court in the capital Islamabad where his bail was confirmed. He then headed to the Islamabad High Court where he is appealing two separate convictions.

“A date will be fixed by the court for when proceedings should start,” Sharif’s lawyer Naseer Ahmed Bhutta told AFP outside the court. “He will attend all proceedings that he is required to.” Last week Sharif was granted protective bail in all cases, paving the way for his homecoming without the threat of arrest. Analysts say his return was likely smoothed by a deal with the powerful military establishment.

“Nawaz is here to be a part of the electoral process and most likely to be the next prime minister of the country,” political analyst Tauseef Ahmed Khan told AFP. “It’s quite evident that he has reached a rapprochement with the establishment; he will sail through the court proceedings.

‘Man of the soil’

Sharif’s return has been touted for months by his party, which hopes his political clout and ‘man of the soil’ swagger will revive its flagging popularity.

On Saturday he greeted thousands of his supporters at a welcome home rally in his powerbase of Lahore, telling the crowds how much he had missed them.

Sharif has been prime minister three times but has never completed a full term.

His political fortunes rise and fall on his relationship with Pakistan’s military establishment—the country’s true kingmakers who have ruled directly for more than half of its history and continue to enjoy immense power.

His primary opponent Imran Khan, who remains wildly popular in Pakistan particularly among the young population, was on Monday indicted over allegations of leaking state documents. The charge could see him kept in custody in the lead up to elections.He was already disqualified from contesting polls after being convicted of graft in August, although his three-year prison sentence was later suspended.Khan, who has waged a campaign of defiance against the military which ultimately led to a major crackdown against his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, has said the cases against him are politically motivated.

AFP