The Basis of China's Pro-Palestine Stance and the Current Status of its Implementation

Abstract

This article is built upon the author's previous attempt to review Sino–Israel relations from the Chinese perspective, where it is argued that the relationship is at a crossroads because China is increasingly more proactively involved in the international arena, which will inevitably lead to a more assertive role in trying to facilitate a solution to the Israel–Palestinian conflicts. The author also affirmed that China is more supportive of the Palestinians. In this article, the author will further analyze China's pro-Palestine stance, give empirical evidence of this preference by Chinese intelligentsia, and provide insight into the decision-making mechanisms of the Chinese government in terms of its diplomatic policies. The author also wants to demonstrate that, despite the evident pro-Palestine tendency of Chinese scholars and consequently the government, little has been done to implement this preference. The Israelis still have a sizable time window to achieve a fair and just peace agreement with the Palestinians. In the long run, China's pro-Palestine inclination will work more and more against Israel, in contrast to the strong pro-Israel inclination of the United States.