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Podcast: What The Israel-Hamas War Means For China


Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas (left) shakes hands with China's President Xi Jinping after a signing ceremony in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on June 14.
Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas (left) shakes hands with China's President Xi Jinping after a signing ceremony in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on June 14.

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China was quick to respond after Hamas, designated as a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union, stormed into southern Israel on October 7, killing more than 1,200 people and taking more than 200 people hostage.

Beijing stepped up its diplomacy to position itself as a peace broker by calling for a cease-fire and used its newfound influence across the Middle East to weigh in on the unfolding conflict at the UN and elsewhere.

In the latest move, a delegation of foreign ministers from the Palestinian Authority, Indonesia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan met in Beijing on November 20 for talks aimed at finding a solution to end the war.

But what is China hoping to achieve and how does this reflect its broader playbook for the region?

On the latest episode of Talking China In Eurasia, host Reid Standish is joined by Erin Hale, a journalist in Taiwan working with Al-Jazeera, where she’s been covering how China is navigating this unfolding war.

Listen to the full episode here:

What The Israel-Hamas War Means For China
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Background Reading

  • 16x9 Image

    Reid Standish

    Reid Standish is an RFE/RL correspondent in Prague and author of the China In Eurasia briefing. He focuses on Chinese foreign policy in Eastern Europe and Central Asia and has reported extensively about China's Belt and Road Initiative and Beijing’s internment camps in Xinjiang. Prior to joining RFE/RL, Reid was an editor at Foreign Policy magazine and its Moscow correspondent. He has also written for The Atlantic and The Washington Post.

  • 16x9 Image

    Katie Toth

    Katie Toth is an audio producer and journalist researching the impact of border security on human rights. Her work has been featured on NPR and the CBC and in Foreign Policy and Vice.

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About The Newsletter

China In Eurasia
Reid Standish

In recent years, it has become impossible to tell the biggest stories shaping Eurasia without considering China’s resurgent influence in local business, politics, security, and culture.

Subscribe to this biweekly dispatch in which correspondent Reid Standish builds on the local reporting from RFE/RL’s journalists across Eurasia to give you unique insights into Beijing’s ambitions and challenges.

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