What are China's goals in hosting Palestinian summit?

Representatives of Hamas and Fatah are expected to meet in China next week for the second round of Beijing-hosted talks since April, as the vision of a post-war Gaza is widely seen as hinging on reconciliation between the rival Palestinian factions.

The last time Hamas and Fatah representatives met in China, Chinese officials did not announce the timing of the meeting, and according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the main takeaway was that both sides "agreed to continue this dialogue process and strive for the early realization of Palestinian unity."

This time around, the stakes could be higher amid ongoing cease-fire negotiations between Israel and Hamas.

A recent report in the Washington Post on the latest round of cease-fire negotiations between Israel and Hamas indicated both sides have agreed in principle to an "interim governance" plan for control of Gaza, with a security control force "drawn from a core group of about 2,500 supporters of the Palestinian Authority in Gaza who have already been vetted by Israel."

Hamas, the Islamist militant group currently at war with Israel in Gaza after it orchestrated the October 7 terror attacks, has been at odds with Fatah since 2007 after Hamas took over the Gaza Strip. Fatah is the largest faction in the multi-party Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), which controls Palestinian politics in the occupied West Bank, and is internationally recognized to represent the Palestinian people.

Fatah leader and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, has criticized Hamas in the past for the war in Gaza while Hamas has accused Abbas of siding with Israel. Hamas is designated as a terror organization by the US, Israel and several other countries.

China wants to be seen as a peacemaker

"China is certainly realistic enough to see that the two factions have been hostile towards each other for so many years and that a complete reconciliation cannot take place overnight," Björn Alpermann, chair of contemporary Chinese studies at Germany's University of Wurzburg, told DW.

"There are of course ideological and power-political factors behind this, so I think it is already a success for China if the two factions talk and negotiate with each other in a somewhat civilized manner," he added.

Any breakthrough in bringing Hamas and Fatah closer, however far-fetched, would be a major diplomatic victory for China, which is vying to position itself as a global broker of peace, especially as an alternative to the United States.

"Beijing wants to portray itself as a peacemaker and contrast its constructive role with what it claims is a US destabilizing role," Bonnie S. Glaser, managing director of the German Marshall Fund's Indo-Pacific program, told DW. "That is the priority goal. No doubt the Chinese don't expect to make any breakthroughs," she added.

China's long-standing Middle East ties

In recent years, the Middle East has been an arena where China has notched some diplomatic success. In April 2023, Beijing brokered Iran and Saudi Arabia reestablishing ties, with the countries' foreign ministers holding their first meeting in seven years in China.

Shortly thereafter, the Chinese Foreign Ministry urged Israel to resume peace talks with Palestinians in favor of a two-state solution. This was months before the October 7 terror attacks.

Nevertheless, China has a long history of supporting Arab countries. During the Cold War, China declared solidarity with its Arab allies and often voted against Israel at the United Nations. Indeed, it was not until 1992 that China and Israel officially established diplomatic relations.

Since establishing formal diplomatic ties, China has viewed Israel primarily as a trading partner. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was due to travel to China in October 2023 with the conclusion of a free trade agreement high on the agenda, but the trip was scrapped after the October 7 terror attacks.

China 'not a neutral broker'

Sinologist Alpermann said that in the case of Israel and the Palestinians, China "is never completely neutral, but very clearly on the side of the Palestinians."

"The Chinese government traditionally sees itself as being on the side of the oppressed in such conflicts," he said, adding China has moved closer to the Palestinians in recent years.

"I interpret that as China trying to position itself more strongly in the Middle East and globally as an alternative to the US-led world order," he said.

Beijing has no regular contact with the Islamist terror organization Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip. But it does maintain links with the leadership of the Palestinian Authority.

Following talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and the president of the Palestinian Authority Abbas in June 2023, China said it would support the establishment of a Palestinian state, reiterating its long-standing support of Palestinian statehood, something which Israel opposes.

In May 2024, Chinese President Xi Jinping again said the same thing at an Arab leaders' conference in Beijing, while lamenting the suffering the Gaza war has caused.

"War should not continue indefinitely. Justice should not be absent forever," Xi said.

DW's Chinese department contributed to this article.

Edited by: Shamil Shams