Schumer Gives Xi a Piece of His Mind Over Hamas Attack Response
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Monday, and one of the topics on the agenda was China’s response to the recent Hamas attacks on Israel.
Schumer said that China should have been more supportive of Israel following attacks that left more than 900 Israelis dead and 2,300 wounded, saying that China should use its influence with Iran to stop the attacks on Israel. He told Xi that he was “disappointed” with China’s initial response, which was seen as weak and equivocal. Schumer urged China to condemn the Hamas attacks in stronger terms and to express support for Israel.
“I urge you and the Chinese people to stand with the Israeli people and condemn the cowardly and vicious attacks,” Schumer said. “I was very disappointed, to be honest, by the foreign ministry’s statement that showed no sympathy or support for Israel during these troubled times.”
Joined by Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Sen. Jon Ossof (D-GA), Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), and Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA), Schumer met with Xi for 80 minutes at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The trip is the first visit by a delegation of lawmakers to China since 2019.
At a press conference after the meeting with Xi, Schumer said that China should press Iran over the attacks.
“They have influence with Iran in many different ways, and we asked them to do everything they could to not have Iran spread this conflagration through themselves and through Hezbollah,” he said.
On Monday, Chinese spokesperson Mao Ning said China was a “common friend of Israel and Palestine.”
“We sincerely hope to see Palestine and Israel co-existing peacefully and sharing security and development,” Mao added.
China called for a two-state solution and the creation of “an independent State of Palestine.” China’s statement was criticized by Israeli diplomatic official Yuval Waks, who said he hoped to see a “stronger condemnation” of Hamas.
During rare China trip, Schumer criticizes country’s initial reaction to Hamas attack on Israel https://t.co/OtJ9yrBZ0F
— POLITICO (@politico) October 9, 2023
