China's Mideast envoy seeks Palestinian guarantees, avoids naming Hamas

China's special envoy for Middle East issues, Zhai Jun, met with his Russian counterpart in Qatar and emphasized the lack of guarantees for Palestinian rights as the cause of the Israel-Gaza crisis. China and Russia share the same position on the Palestinian issue and are working together to de-escalate the conflict. Zhai did not mention the Gaza-based militant group Hamas. The United States and China have differing views on the Israel-Hamas war, according to the U.S. ambassador to China. China criticized the biased attitude of the U.S. and called it a root cause of the long-standing Palestine issue. Qatar, with its direct communication channels with Hamas, has been an important stopover for foreign diplomats seeking to mediate in the conflict.