Beijing urges coordination in Middle East conflict

China's top diplomat Wang Yi said on Friday that China and France should strengthen strategic communication and coordination to prevent the world from sliding back into the "law of the jungle" amid the grave situation in the Middle East.

Wang made the remarks during a phone conversation with Emmanuel Bonne, diplomatic adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron, in the latest diplomatic outreach by Beijing to parties directly involved in the conflict, neighboring Gulf states and major world powers following the United States and Israeli military operations in Iran.

The call was the second interaction between the two countries since the operations began in late February. In early March, Wang had a phone conversation with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot.

Wang elaborated on China's position, saying that as the Mideast situation continues to deteriorate, the expanding spillover of the conflict has not only disrupted the stability of global energy supplies, but also triggered a severe humanitarian crisis. Force provides no solution and an unjust war should not continue, he said.

Bonne said France and China should make contributions for finding a way to help de-escalate tensions and restart negotiations.

Also on Friday, China's special envoy on the Middle East issue, Zhai Jun, met with Iran's ambassador to China, Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, in Beijing to exchange views on the current tensions in the Middle East.

mojingxi@chinadaily.com.cn