China calls on resuming Israeli-Palestinian peace talks

China called on parties to resume the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, voicing support to resolve disputes including the status of Jerusalem, in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions.

"It was an international consensus that the status of Jerusalem should be resolved through peace talks," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said during a regular news briefing on Thursday.

US President Donald Trump formally recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital on Wednesday, upending decades of American policy towards the status of the city, drawing strong condemnation from international communities.

US President Donald Trump announces that the United States recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and will move its embassy there, during an address from the White House in Washington, US, December 6, 2017.

Jerusalem is one of the most contentious issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Palestinians say the eastern sector, which has been occupied by Israel since 1967, is the capital of their future state. While Israel claims Jerusalem as its capital, and considers the city as "undivided."

"China firmly supports and advances the Middle East peace process. We support the just cause of the Palestinian people to restore their legitimate national rights and stand behind Palestine in building an independent, fully sovereign state along the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital," Geng said.

(CGTN)