Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas arrives in China on three-day state visit

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Beijing for a three-day visit on Tuesday, state media reported, with China expressing readiness to help facilitate talks between Israeli and Palestinian officials.

Abbas will stay in China until Friday, Beijing has said, on his fifth official visit to the world's second-largest economy.

Abbas will meet with President Xi Jinping during the trip, according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.

The two are expected to "exchange opinions on the latest developments on the Palestinian arena as well as on regional and international issues of mutual concern", Wafa reported.

Abbas, the first head of an Arab state to visit China this year, will also meet with Premier Li Qiang, the news agency added.

#Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for a state visit to China from June 13 to 16. pic.twitter.com/QnkYDPN9wf

— CGTN (@CGTNOfficial) June 13, 2023

The longtime Palestinian leader is an "old and good friend of the Chinese people", foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said last week.

"China has always firmly supported the just cause of the Palestinian people to restore their legitimate national rights," he added.

Peace negotiations between Palestine and Israel, who has illegally occupied the West Bank and east Jerusalem after it invaded in 1967, have been stalled since 2014.

Beijing has sought to boost its ties to the Middle East, challenging long-standing US influence there - efforts that have sparked unease in Washington.

China recently brokered the restoration of ties in March between Iran and Saudi Arabia - rivals in a region where the United States has for decades been the main powerbroker.

President Xi last December visited Saudi Arabia on an Arab outreach trip that also saw him meet with Abbas and pledge to "work for an early, just and durable solution to the Palestinian issue".

And during a trip to Riyadh last week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Saudi Arabia was not being forced to choose between Washington and Beijing, striking a conciliatory tone following tensions with the long-time ally.

In an interview with Chinese state news agency Xinhua published this week, Palestinian official Abbas Zaki said China and the Palestinians were "friends closer than brothers".

"I am very pleased to see that China has been more involved in Middle East affairs after the China-Arab States Summit last year," he added.