Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Ishtaye speaks at a reception to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC), in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Sept. 23, 2019. Ishtaye has hailed China for being always "a supporting pillar" to the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian cause to achieve statehood and independence. He made the remarks at the reception held on Monday evening by the Office of the PRC to the State of Palestine. (Photo by Ayman Nobani/Xinhua)
AMALLAH, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Ishtaye has hailed China for being always "a supporting pillar" to the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian cause to achieve statehood and independence.
He made the remarks at a reception held on Monday evening by the Office of the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the State of Palestine to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the PRC founding.
Ishtaye praised China's unwavering support to the rights of the Palestinians, as well as its support to the Palestinian people in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, including providing generous aid to poor students, infrastructure and solar energy sector.
The Palestinian premier also voiced high appreciation of the four-point proposal proposed by China in 2017, which embodies China's firm support to a political settlement of the Palestinian issue on the basis of the two-state solution, the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as the capital, coordinating international efforts to resume the peace process, and promoting peace through development and cooperation between the Palestinians and Israelis.
Ishtaye expressed the hope that it would become an international proposal to respond to the delay in resolving the conflicts in the region, particularly the Israeli-Palestinian dispute.
Over 400 Palestinian and Chinese representatives attended the celebration hosed by Guo Wei, director of the Office of the People's Republic of China to the State of Palestine.
In his speech, Guo touted the big successes achieved by China in the past seven decades in national development, poverty reduction, and contribution to the growth of global economy.
In the past 70 years, many of China's initiatives have been implemented and accepted by the world, such as the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China in 2013, the Chinese envoy said.
Addressing the China-Palestine relations, Guo highlighted the strong bond between the two sides which are "connected by a traditional and historic friendship."
He added that China has been a strong supporter to the Palestinians, as its aid to Palestine covers the areas of development, education, trainings, and infrastructure, in addition to increased financial support to the UN Relief and Works Agency.
