OAN’s Brooke Mallory
6:25 PM – Monday, October 9, 2023
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer encouraged China’s president, Xi Jinping, to back Israel in the wake of the deadly Hamas attacks.
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Schumer reportedly voiced that he was “disappointed” how Beijing had shown “no sympathy” for the nation over the weekend.
State media coverage of the meeting avoided mentioning Israel, in favor of concentrating on the necessity of “cooperation and mutual respect.” The Chinese media also included comments made by Xi that may have been intended to prepare the stage for a possible summit with President Joe Biden next month.
On Saturday, Hamas terrorists attacked cities in Israel, killing at least 700 Israelis and kidnapping hundreds more.
In response, China’s foreign ministry made a short statement over the weekend, encouraging the “relevant parties” to maintain peace and to put a stop to hostilities in order to safeguard civilians.
They also stated that “the fundamental way out of the conflict lies in implementing the two-state solution and establishing an independent state of Palestine.”
On his trip to Asia, Schumer is leading a bipartisan congressional delegation that is also taking a pit stop in South Korea and Japan. U.S. officials said that they will strive to further the nation’s economic and security objectives.
“The ongoing events in Israel over the last few days are nothing short of horrific. I urge you and the Chinese people to stand with the Israeli people and condemn the cowardly and vicious attacks,” Schumer told Xi during their Beijing meeting.
“I say this with respect, but I was disappointed by the foreign minister’s statement that showed no sympathy or support for the Israeli people during these troubled times,” he added.
At a routine briefing on Monday, a spokesperson for the foreign ministry, Mao Ning, stated that China was “highly concerned” about the escalation.
“We are very saddened by the civilian casualties caused by the conflict, and also oppose and condemn such acts against civilians,” she said.
Schumer and Democrat committee leaders announced in May that they would draft legislation to restrict the flow of technology to China, prevent it from starting a conflict with Taiwan, and tighten regulations to prevent American capital from going to Chinese companies.
This follows the passage of a bill last year that strived to increase competition with China in the field of semiconductors and other technologies.
In assuring that Washington, D.C., was not seeking conflict with Beijing, Schumer reaffirmed on Monday that the major goals of the trip were to seek economic reciprocity and the establishment of an “even playing field” for American enterprises in China.
“Competition and confrontation are not in line with the trend of the times, let alone solving their own problems and the challenges facing the world,” Schumer said to Xi, according to CCTV.
“China has always believed that the common interests of China and the U.S. far outweigh their differences,” he added, according to CCTV.
Relations that have been strained for years over topics like Taiwan, the origins of COVID-19, and Chinese espionage seem to be improving as a result of increasing communication between U.S. and Chinese officials in recent months, U.S. officials claimed.
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