Manoj Kewalramani quoted in AFP on Chinese envoy’s visit to Middle East

Manoj Kewalramani, chair of Indo-Pacific Studies and a fellow at Takshashila Institution, was quoted in the AFP. He was quoted as saying:

"Wang Yi has actually intensified his criticism of Israel's actions... so while Israel will want Beijing to apply pressure on Arab states and Iran to bring them to the table, it is unlikely to view China as an impartial broker," Manoj Kewalramani from India's Takshashila Institution told AFP.

A bigger obstacle to meaningful engagement is China's lack of direct contact with Hamas, which would force it to go through Tehran in order to place pressure on the militant group, according to Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a senior research fellow at the Asia Centre in Paris.

This could be an issue because while Iran has applauded Hamas's attack, it has denied playing any role in it.

Still, Beijing stands to gain from even an attempt to mediate, as it seeks to play a more assertive role on the international stage.

The conflict is "a tremendous opportunity to point to what Beijing has long argued is Western hypocrisy on the issue of international law and human rights", Kewalramani said.

Read the report here.