Interview: Palestinian president's visit to China to strengthen bilateral ties: official

RAMALLAH, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' state visit to China will lay the foundation for consolidating bilateral relations, a senior Palestinian official said.

In a recent interview with Xinhua, Abbas Zaki, a Palestinian Fatah Central Committee member and commissioner for relations with Arab countries and China, said China and Palestine are "friends closer than brothers."

Zaki said that China and Palestine have always supported each other in their core interests. He said China firmly supports the cause of the Palestinian people to restore their legitimate rights and supports establishing an independent State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital and based on 1967 borders.

He said Palestine appreciated China's call for a just and comprehensive settlement of the Palestine issue at the United Nations and other levels and that Abbas' visit would strengthen bilateral ties.

Speaking of the first China-Arab States Summit held last year, Zaki said it was a milestone in the history of China-Arab relations and would guide the direction for developing China-Arab relations in the new era.

"I am very pleased to see that China has been more involved in Middle East affairs after the China-Arab States Summit last year," said the Palestinian official, noting that the resumption of diplomatic ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia resulted from the China-proposed Global Security Initiative.

He said that the rapprochement signaled a change in the political landscape in the Middle East and raised awareness of unity and independence among regional countries.

Zaki said Western countries, led by the United States, have destabilized the region. "Iraq, Libya and Syria were destroyed by them, and Sudan is now facing fragmentation."

According to Zaki, the United States has consistently shown bias and double standards on the Palestine issue, hindering progress toward restoring the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.