China supports independent Palestinian state: envoy

LAHORE: Chinese Consul General in Lahore Zhao Shirin has said that there should be an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

He said China had been and would continue to support the establishment of an independent Palestinian state and the two-state formula, as it is the main solution to the conflict. “China has also sent its special representative for peace to the region. There is great sadness and grief at large-scale civilian deaths in Palestine,” he said.

Shirin said, “If there is no immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, there will be a major crisis in terms of loss of human lives.”

The Chinese Consul General said that China was different not only from America but all the major powers. “There have been many empires in the world like the Roman Empire and the British Empire, but China has a unique position because its traditions are very clear. We are a developing country, but despite this, whenever China developed, it tried to make others a part of the development. This is an innocuous approach that China is committed to,” he added.

“We will make every possible effort to complete CPEC. My country is not like countries that want to dominate other countries.

We are not a superpower but we are definitely a big power. We are not working for China but for the whole world. We need Pakistan’s help for development and further improvement of relations between Pakistan and China,” he maintained. He said he would make every effort to take the Pakistan-China relations to new heights.