Middle East Eye reports:

As 14 Palestinian leaders lined up for a photograph in Beijing on Tuesday, they each made sure to shake hands afterwards with one man: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Tuesday’s Palestinian unity talks, where an agreement for a post-war Gaza framework was signed, were an opportunity for China to provide a rival platform to Israel and its western allies on the future of Palestine and the Middle East.

“China’s major goal is to gain consent and acknowledgment among regional countries regarding its rising status as a responsible country with a superior moral role compared to the US,” Razan Shawamreh, a Palestinian expert on China’s foreign policy in the region, told Middle East Eye.

Hamas and Fatah, the two main rival Palestinian factions, have attempted reconciliation several times to put an end to 17 years of dispute, including talks which began in China in April.

Though efforts have barely made progress in the past, the involvement of Beijing now offers unique incentives to break away from the influence of Washington, including for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. [Continue reading…]