Beijing backs Palestinian statehood

BEIJING - China supports the establishment of an independent Palestinian state and appreciates efforts to push forward the process in peaceful talks, the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday told the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a phone call that he is determined to go to the United Nations to bid for full membership.

Their conversation comes three weeks before the UN General Assembly meeting, when it will discuss a Palestinian request to recognize an independent Palestinian state.