China prepares for Belt and Road summit under shadow of Israel-Gaza war
The Hindu
China hosts 130 countries for BRI forum, as Israel-Gaza war looms. Beijing seeks to use event to boost its global standing, while urging Israel to cease collective punishment of Gaza people. China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi has spoken with US Sec. of State Blinken, and China's envoy Zhai Jun to visit Middle East. Putin hails China's initiatives, Xi as "true world leader".
China prepared on Monday to host representatives of 130 countries for a forum that will be overshadowed by the Israel-Gaza war, as an increasingly assertive Beijing is asked to help de-escalate the violence.
At the top of the invite list to China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) forum is Russia's President Vladimir Putin, on his first trip to a major global power since the Ukraine invasion threw his regime into international isolation.
Leaders have begun to trickle into the Chinese capital for a gala event marking a decade of the BRI — a key project of President Xi Jinping to extend China's global reach.
While China hopes the forum will help boost its standing as a leading global power, Israel's war with Palestinian militant organisation Hamas will continue to dominate the headlines.
Israel declared war on the Islamist group after waves of its fighters broke through the heavily fortified border on October 7, shooting, stabbing and burning to death more than 1,400 people, most of them civilians. Under heavy Israeli bombardment of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, more than one million people have fled their homes in scenes of chaos and despair.
Israel's bombing has left at least 2,670 people dead in Gaza, mainly civilians, and flattened entire neighbourhoods.
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi has condemned Israel's actions for going "beyond the scope of self-defence" and called for it to "cease its collective punishment of the people of Gaza".
With a new government in place in Delhi, Singapore hopes to schedule the Ministerial Roundtable with India shortly, says Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan. In an exclusive interview, he speaks about the impact of the elections on ties, the “missed opportunity” of RCEP and the new buzz around Andhra Pradesh’s capital Amaravati.