According to the Israeli newspaper, the visit is seen as a sign of China’s ongoing effort to increase its influence in the Middle East at a time when the US has refocused its attention on the Indo-Pacific region and Ukraine and also as a sign of strengthened relations between the Palestinians and China.
Jerusalem Post reminded that Abbas’s visit to China comes shortly after Beijing helped broker the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran. It also comes in the aftermath of China’s offer to help Israel and the Palestinians resume peace negotiations, which have been stalled since 2014.
The last meeting between Abbas and Chinese President Xi Jinping took place in December 2022 at the China-Arab Summit held in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, the newspaper recalled.
