FM Katz tells Chinese counterpart Iran is threat to entire world, urges ‘balanced position’ on conflict

Foreign Minister Israel Katz has told his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi that Iran is a threat to the Middle East and the entire world, his office says.

Katz tells Wang during a phone call that Israel will respond to the Iranian missile attack. They discuss fighting against Iran’s proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah, says Katz’s office.

It is the first phone call between Katz and Wang, who last spoke to an Israeli top diplomat — Eli Cohen — in October 2023.

“We expect that China will express a balanced and fair position in relation to the war that was imposed on Israel,” says the Israeli readout, “which accurately reflects who are terrorist elements in our region and who is the state that protects itself against attacks by those terrorists.”

They discuss the importance of economic cooperation, and Katz notes the 20,000 Chinese workers who remained in Israel during the war.

“We agreed to continue the relationship and work together to strengthen the ties between the countries based on the long-standing friendship between the Jewish people and the Chinese people,” says Katz’s office.

Meanwhile, Chinese state media presented its readout from the call, according to which Wang told Katz that “humanitarian disasters” in Gaza should end.

“Humanitarian disasters in Gaza should not continue and… countering violence with violence cannot truly address the legitimate concerns of all parties,” Wang told Katz, the official Xinhua news agency says.

“The Chinese side believes that renewed conflict and turmoil in the region serves the interests of no one,” Wang adds.

Beijing also “hopes that all parties will act cautiously to avoid falling into a vicious circle amid tension between Israel and Iran,” Xinhua quotes Wang as saying.

He calls for “immediate, complete and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all hostages.”