China supports Palestinian membership of UN

China expressed its support Tuesday of Palestinian membership in the United Nations. The statement was made by the Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Yang Jiechi during a meeting in Beijing with a Palestinian delegation that included Azzam al-Ahmed, member of Fatah Central Committee, and Bassam al-Salhi, general secretary of the Palestinian People's Party. The delegation delivered a letter from President Mahmoud Abbas to the Chinese President Hu Jintao about the latest political developments in the area. The minister stressed his country’s support of the Palestinian people’s rights and their bid to go to the UN for membership, where China was one of the first countries to recognize the Palestinian state and the PLO and shared special historical relations with the Palestinians. Jiechi added that China is ready to continue coordination with the Palestinians on all fronts in order to gather support for the Palestinian effort, and stressed the right of the Palestinians to end occupation as soon as possible, establish their independent state and achieve peace in the region. The Palestinian delegation said this visit comes in the framework of consultation with the Republic of China on the best ways to ensure success of the Palestinian bid in the UN in September, especially that China is a permanent member of the UN Security Council.