Paris Soir - Blinken asks China to use 'influence' for Middle East calm

The top US diplomat, who was visiting Saudi Arabia, had a "productive" one-hour telephone call with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.

"Our message was that he thinks it's in our shared interest to stop the conflict from spreading." Miller told reporters on Blinken's plane from Riyadh to Abu Dhabi.

"He thought it could be useful if China could use its influence."

China has a warm relationship with Iran, whose clerical leadership supports both Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group ruling Gaza that carried out grisly attacks inside Israel a week ago, and Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group that could open a second front against Israel.

Wang for his part said that the United States should "play a constructive and responsible role, pushing the issue back on track for a political settlement as soon as possible," according to a readout published by the Chinese foreign ministry.

"When dealing with international hot-spot issues, major countries must adhere to objectivity and fairness, maintain calmness and restraint, and take the lead in abiding by international law," said Wang.

The Chinese foreign minister added that Beijing called for "the convening of an international peace meeting as soon as possible to promote the reaching of broad consensus".

"The fundamental outlet for the Palestinian issue lies in implementing a 'two-state solution'," said Wang.

China's official statements on the conflict have not specifically named Hamas in their condemnations of violence, leading to criticism from some Western officials who said they were too weak.

The United States considers China to be its main global challenger but the two powers have been working to stabilise their relationship, with Blinken paying a rare visit to Beijing in June.

Miller said the Middle East was an example of areas where the two powers could work together.

The phone call also included a discussion on China-US relations, which have been heavily strained in recent years by a range of thorny trade and geopolitical issues.

But Wang suggested there were some positive signs.

"China and the United States have recently carried out a series of high-level contacts, and bilateral relations appear to have stopped sliding and to stabilise," said Wang.

"(This) has been welcomed by the people of the two countries and the international community."

G.Durand--PS