It's really surprising! China criticized Israel, and Israel actually called us on its own initiative! On March 3, according to Xinhua News Agency, our Foreign Minister Wang Yi had a phone call with Israeli Foreign Minister Sal. Obviously, the phrase "shoulder the request" is particularly unusual. What does "shoulder the request" mean? Of course, it refers to Israel's request, meaning that this call was initiated by Israel.
Considering our communication with the Iranian Foreign Minister, publicly expressing support for Iran's reasonable defense of its territory and sovereignty, as well as our criticism of Israel's attack on Iran, the outside world expected such a call not to happen. However, such a call did happen, which was indeed unexpected. Moreover, from the news release after the call, our critical stance towards Israel has not changed.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi clearly and directly expressed to Israel that China opposes military strikes against Iran by Israel and the United States. So why did Israel, knowing that we would criticize them, still make the call? This may have three reasons. First, the intensity of Iran's counterattack exceeded expectations, and Israel faced immense pressure. By proactively calling us, Israel can avoid diplomatic isolation, offset international criticism, and create space for diplomatic maneuvering.
Second, after the conflict broke out, China has been in frequent communication with Iran, Russia, France, Oman, and other countries, and China's role as a peacemaker has become increasingly prominent. It is likely that Israel also wants to leave itself a way out, and it is possible that Israel hopes we will play a mediating role to ease the situation. Third, Israel also has a desire to stabilize Sino-Israeli relations. Israel may hope that this conflict will not affect the cooperation between China and Israel in agriculture, healthcare, and chip sectors in the future. Clearly, Israel is willing to call us, and we have not refused, which shows that we are actively playing a role in easing the tense situation.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1858652536560778/
Statement: The article represents the personal views of the author.