China to work with ‘good friend’ Egypt to bring peace to West Asia, says Xi

Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday (Oct 19) told Egypt’s prime minister that his nation was willing to work with Cairo to bring stability to West Asia, a region rocked by the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

"China is willing to enhance cooperation with Egypt... and inject more certainty and stability into the region and the world," Xi was quoted as saying to PM Mostafa Madbouli by Chinese state media.

"China and Egypt are good friends who share the same goals and trust each other, and good partners who work hand-in-hand for development and common prosperity", CCTV reported Xi as saying.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Watch:Israel-Palestine war: Biden to meet leaders of Israel, Jordan, Egypt and Palestine

"At present, the international and regional situation is undergoing profound and complex changes, and the world is experiencing rapid changes not seen for a century," Xi said.

Beijing was also willing to work with Cairo to "jointly safeguard international fairness and justice as well as the common interests of developing countries", he said.

Egypt’s aid corridor to Gaza

Egypt on Thursday announced it will allow the "sustainable" passage of humanitarian aid through the Rafah crossing.

Ties between China and Egypt have strengthened over the past few years, with the latter all set to join the BRICS bloc, a grouping of developing nations including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Xi also congratulated the Egyptian leader for becoming an official member of the bloc.

"China congratulates Egypt on joining the BRICS cooperation mechanism and believes that this will inject new impetus into BRICS cooperation," Xi told Madbouli, according to CCTV.

China’s stance on the Israel-Hamas war

Beijing has failed to condemn Hamas terrorists for their deadly Oct 7 assault on Israel, with its Foreign Minister Wang Yi openly condemning Israel’s actions for going "beyond the scope of self-defence".

Earlier, China also called on the Jewish nation to "cease its collective punishment of the people of Gaza".

"(Israel) should listen earnestly to the calls of the international community... and cease its collective punishment of the people of Gaza," Wang was quoted as saying by AFP.

China has increasingly come under fire from Western officials for not condemning Hamas terrorists in any of its statements given on the ongoing war so far.

(With inputs from agencies)

WATCH WION LIVE HERE