Q+A | Mahmoud abbas

Editor's note: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas talked to reporters on Monday night before wrapping up his three-day visit to China on Tuesday.

What are the goals of your visit to China? Have you achieved these goals?

I have many goals to meet during the visit. First of all, I want to know the new leadership of China. I also aim to develop China-Palestine relations. Besides, I hope to update Beijing about the Palestine-Israel relations and the situation in the Arabic world over the past two years. I think "good" is not enough to describe this visit; it is "very good".

What do you think of the role China can play in the Middle East peace process?

China should play an important role during the process as it is a fair country, impartial and adhering to justice. That's the reason Palestine has been long standing together with China. Today, I exchanged views with Chinese leaders on solving of Palestine-Israel issues. The Chinese side said it would convey our concerns to the Israeli side, evaluate the consensus we share with Israel, and continue paying attention to the Palestinian issue.

There has been speculation about whether you would meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Beijing. What is your opinion about such speculation?

In principle, I don't oppose meeting him. I welcome the meeting if it is possible. But the fact is that we did not have an appointment with the Israeli side, and I will leave China tomorrow. Now, I have a question for him: Whether he accepts the establishment of two countries based on the 1967 borders. If he accepts this condition, I would like to meet him anytime.

What do you think of the development of China-Palestine relations in the future?

The bilateral relations can be traced back to 1964 when Abu Jihad visited China. China has given support to the Palestine Liberation Organization, established in 1964; the State of Palestine, founded in 1988; and our efforts to join the UN. Relations have never seen a setback over the past decades and have been moving forward. This is also my prediction to the development of Palestine-China relations in the future.

China Daily

(China Daily 05/07/2013 page12)