Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told President Isaac Herzog that Israel should halt and reverse what Beijing calls the "forced establishment" of West Bank settlements, according to a statement from China's foreign ministry cited by The Times of Israel. The two met on the sidelines of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia summit in Baku on October 16.
Wang told Herzog that China continues to view the Palestinian question as the greatest historical injustice of the century, and that promoting peace and reconciliation in the region remains the "cornerstone" of Chinese Middle East policy, with Beijing backing a two-state solution. He also pressed for full humanitarian access into Gaza, saying China was willing to work with the international community to push all parties toward dialogue and a political settlement.
Herzog's office confirmed the two discussed bilateral relations, pointing to economic, trade and cultural ties, but declined to say whether West Bank or Palestinian issues came up directly in their conversation. Separately, Wang met Palestinian Authority counterpart Varsen Aghabekian Shahin and reiterated that "the Palestinian issue should not be marginalized."
In his own remarks to the summit, Herzog called for Israel to deepen its diplomatic and economic ties across Asia, arguing that "peace cannot exist with terror, and cooperation cannot thrive with boycotts." Notably, delegations from Iran, Pakistan, Turkey, the Palestinian Authority and Kuwait walked out when Herzog began speaking, while Qatar's emir remained in the room. Herzog also held separate meetings with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Bahrain's foreign minister, Abdul Latif Al Zayani.
