Palestinian Hamas militants (Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

A top Chinese diplomat emphasized China’s relationship with Hamas during the first meeting between a Chinese official and a Hamas leader since the terrorist group's Oct. 7 attack on Israel. 

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs envoy, Wang Kejian, met with the head of Hamas’s political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, in Qatar on Sunday. Wang said the Chinese government is keen on maintaining relations with Hamas, describing the organization as "part of the Palestinian national fabric" and advocating for "the Palestinian people's just demands for freedom, independence, and the establishment of the Palestinian state," according to a Tuesday statement by Hamas. 

"The two parties discussed political and field developments related to the situation in the Gaza Strip and ways to stop the war and deliver urgent aid, especially in light of the killing, starvation, massacres, and attempts to create chaos," Hamas added in the statement.

Haniyeh, meanwhile, expressed his "pride in the close relationship between the friendly Palestinian and Chinese peoples," while praising the Chinese government for trying to broker a ceasefire and sending humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. The Hamas leader also stressed "the need to quickly stop the aggression and massacres" and "achieve the political goals and aspirations of establishing an independent Palestinian state."

The Chinese envoy’s meeting with the Hamas official came after China’s foreign minister Wang Yi earlier this month urged the United States to "promote an immediate ceasefire as its overriding priority." The foreign minister said China "supports Palestine’s full membership in the UN, and urges [a] certain UN Security Council member not to lay obstacles to that end," referring to Washington’s pro-Israel stance following Hamas’s Oct. 7 terrorist attack. 

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