Chinese envoy meets Hamas political chief in Qatar to discuss Gaza conflict, other issues

China's foreign ministry envoy Wang Kejian has met Hamas' political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh, the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday, in the first known meeting between a Chinese official and the Palestinian group since the Gaza conflict broke out last year.

The brief statement said Wang met Haniyeh in Qatar on Sunday and "exchanged views on the Gaza conflict and other issues", without further elaboration, reports South China Morning Post.

The Jerusalem Post, citing Hamas, reported that Haniyeh told the Chinese envoy that the war needed to end quickly. He also said Israel must withdraw its forces from Gaza and an independent Palestinian state should be established.

According to the report, Wang said China was "keen on relations" with Hamas, which he called a "part of the Palestinian national fabric".

Wang is the first diplomat China has sent to Palestine and Israel since the war erupted in October.

Last week, he visited the West Bank and met the Palestinian Authority's foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki. There, he said China was renewing its call for an immediate ceasefire and a "two-state" solution as a political settlement.

Wang also held talks with Hagai Shagrir, head of the Israeli foreign ministry's Asia and Pacific bureau, and Rachel Feinmesser, the head of the ministry's policy research centre.

Since the conflict began, China has sought to play a role by releasing its own 5-point position paper on the crisis, which urged the United Nations Security Council to draw up a "concrete" timeline and road map for a two-state solution.

Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi last year held separate calls with his Israeli and Palestinian counterparts while other Chinese officials have discussed the situation with various countries in the Middle East.

But China has not condemned Hamas or referred to the group as a terrorist organisation, which analysts earlier suggested might prompt countries, including Israel, to view Beijing's efforts as unbalanced.