Mahmoud Abbas and Xi Jinping
Mahmoud Abbas and Xi JinpingReuters

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday pledged $15 million in aid for “Palestine”, Middle East Eye reported.

The aid is part of a package of $105 million that will go to the Palestinian Authority (PA), Yemen, Syria and Jordan. Xi made the announcement in a speech at the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum (CASCF) in Beijing.

The financial assistance for the PA will target economic development programmes and aim to improve living standards, he said. It will also include donations to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA).

Xi further said that China plans to hold an international conference in an attempt to gather support for the efforts to reach a durable two-state solution based on the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative.

China has in recent years sought to play a greater role in the Middle East in general and in the Israel-PA peace process in particular.

In 2013, Xi presented a four-point proposal to end the Israeli-PA conflict and establish an independent Palestinian state.

The four points are: Advancing a two-state solution based on the pre-1967 borders with eastern Jerusalem as the capital of a new Palestinian state; Upholding “the concept of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security,” immediately ending Israeli settlement building, taking immediate measures to prevent violence against civilians, and calling for an early resumption of peace talks; Coordinating international efforts to put forward “peace-promoting measures that entail joint participation at an early date”; and promoting peace through development and cooperation between the PA and Israel.

Last year, Xi reaffirmed China's support of a two-state solution, with an independent, fully sovereign Palestinian state, bounded by the pre-1967 borders and with eastern Jerusalem as its capital.

China has been seeking international support for Xi’s four-point proposal.