China, Indonesia call for Gaza ceasefire: ‘Would also fully support Palestine’s membership in UN’

The Chinese and Indonesian foreign ministers call for an immediate and lasting ceasefire in Gaza after a meeting in Jakarta.
Indonesia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi tells reporters that the two countries share the same view about the importance of a ceasefire and a two-state solution.
“I am sure that China would use its influence to prevent escalation,” Marsudi says, adding that China and Indonesia “would also fully support Palestine’s membership in the UN.”
The meeting took place on the second day of a six-day tour during which Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will also visit Papua New Guinea and Cambodia.
Wang blames the United States for holding up ceasefire resolutions at the UN.
“The conflict in Gaza has lasted for half a year and caused a rare humanitarian tragedy in the 21st century. The United Nations Security Council responded to the call of the international community and continued to review the resolution draft on the ceasefire in Gaza, but it was repeatedly vetoed by the United States,” Wang tells reporters.
The US vetoed a number of proposed Security Council resolutions because they didn’t tie a ceasefire directly to the release of hostages held in Gaza or condemn the devastating October 7 Hamas attack that prompted the war, but then allowed a resolution to a pass with an abstention in late March.
American officials have argued that the ceasefire and hostage releases are linked, while Russia, China and many other council members favored unconditional calls for a ceasefire.
“This time, the US did not dare to stand in opposition to international morality and chose to abstain. However, the US claimed that this resolution was not binding,” Wang says. “In the eyes of the United States, international law seems to be a tool that can be used whenever it finds useful and discarded if it does not want to use it.”