POLITICAL ISSUES
EGYPT
1. China wants stability in Egypt
Beijing, Monday, 16 December, 2013
Meeting visiting Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that China regards Egypt as a major regional power and an important strategic partner.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing; See also Xinhua

2. China condemns Egypt bombing
Beijing, Tuesday, 24 December, 2013
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said that China condemned a bomb attack in Egypt that left 14 dead and more than a hundred other wounded.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

ISRAEL
3. Visiting Chinese FM meets with his Israeli counterpart
Jerusalem, Thursday, 19 December, 2013
Before his meeting with the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel pledges to further strengthen its cooperation with China in trade, water management, health care, agriculture and green energy.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

4. China pushes Israel-Palestine peace talks
Beijing, Thursday, 19 December, 2013
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with various Israeli and Palestinian leaders as he continued his tour of the Middle East. Wang held separate talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. During the talks, he outlined Beijing’s commitment to finding a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

5. Israeli President appreciates China's role in Mideast peace process
Jerusalem, Thursday, 19 December, 2013
During a meeting with the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Israeli President Shimon Peres appreciated China's constructive support in efforts to bring peace between Israel and Palestine.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

6. Chinese FM urges Israeli's, Palestinians to support peace talks
Jerusalem, Friday, 20 December, 2013
At a peace forum co-sponsored by the Chinese Embassy in Israel and the Chinese Office to the Palestinian National Authority, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged Israelis and Palestinians to forge consensus on peace and lend support to the ongoing peace talks.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

7. Chinese FM: China willing to deepen cooperation with Israel
Beijing, Friday, 20 December, 2013
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem and expressed a willingness to deepen pragmatic cooperation in various areas.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing; See also

IRAN
8. Iranian president meets Chinese state councillor on ties, nuclear issue
Tehran, Sunday, 8 December, 2013
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani met with the Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi and discussed bilateral ties and the Iranian nuclear issue.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

9. China urges diplomatic solution on Iran after US blacklisting
Beijing, Monday, 16 December, 2013
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said that China urges all parties to be committed to a diplomatic solution to Iranian nuclear issue in the wake of the U.S. blacklisting companies and individuals suspected of evading sanctions against Iran.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

JORDAN
10. Chinese state councillor meets Jordan's FM
Beijing, Monday, 2 December, 2013
Chinese state councillor Yang Jeichi met with the Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh and discussed measures to cement political mutual trust, deepen all-round cooperation and strengthen multilateral coordination.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

11. Foreign Chiefs of China, Jordan hold talks in Beijing
Beijing, Sunday, 1 December, 2013
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with the Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh and stressed upon the unique influences Jordan has on the Middle East, Arab and the Islamic community.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

PALESTINE
12. Palestinians highlight upcoming visit by Chinese FM
Ramallah, Tuesday, 17 December, 2013
Palestinian Minister of Foreign Affairs Riyad Al-Maliki said that the visit by the Chinese Foreign Minister is very important given the ongoing peace negotiations with Israel.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

13. Chinese, Palestinian FMs meet to discuss ties
Ramallah, Wednesday, 18 December, 2013
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with his Palestinian counterpart Riyad Al-Maliki to push forward bilateral ties.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

SYRIA
14. Geneva II Conference on Syria to provide opportunity: Chinese FM
Beijing, Saturday, 14 December, 2013
In a phone talk with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that the upcoming Geneva II conference on Syria will provide a window of opportunity to break the stalemate on the Syrian issue.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

15. China to continue supporting Syria's weapons disposal work
Beijing, Thursday, 19 December, 2013
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said that China will continue to support disposing of Syria's Chemical Weapons.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

16. China expects Geneva II conference on Syria to be held as slated
Beijing, Monday, 23 December, 2013
Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that China expressed hope that the upcoming international conference on Syria will be held as slated.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

17. FM spokesperson: China's efforts in settling Syrian issue
Beijing, Friday, 27 December, 2013
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying summed up China's efforts to push for proper settlement of the Syrian issue and mentioned assistance for destruction of Syria's chemical weapons and humanitarian aid.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

18. China says agreement reached on shipping Syria's Chemical Weapons
Beijing, Tuesday, 31 December, 2013
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Qin Gang said that a multilateral agreement has been reached among US, China, Syria, Denmark, Norway and Russia for escorting Syria's chemical weapons out of the country and destroying them.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

YEMEN
19. China condemns Yemen defence ministry attack
Beijing, Friday, 6 December, 2013
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said that China condemned the deadly terrorist attack on the Yemeni Defence Ministry Complex that killed 52 people.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

ECONOMIC ISSUES
ISRAEL
20. Israel keen on increasing trade with China
Beijing, Monday, 30 December, 2013
During a meeting in his Jerusalem office of the Ministerial Committee on Advancing Economic Ties with China, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that consistently increasing trade with China is one of the main horizons for ensuring the continued growth of the Israeli economy.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

IRAN
21. Iran's non-oil trade totals 62.5 billion USD in 9 months: report
Beijing, Saturday, 28 December, 2013
According to the latest report released by Iran's Customs Administration, China, Iraq and the UAE remained the top three importers of Iranian goods during the first nine months of the current Iranian year that began on 21 March.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

UAE
22. UAE blue chip firms footprint abroad
Beijing, Thursday, 26 December, 2013
Dubai Islamic Bank CEO Dr. Adnan Chilwan said that he was interested in expanding to China as Dubai begins to establish itself as the capital of the global Islamic economy.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

MULTILATERAL ISSUES
23. Chinese FM to visit Middle East, N. Africa
Beijing, Thursday, 12 December, 2013
Chinese Foreign Minister will visit Palestine, Israel, Algeria, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia during 17-26 December 2013.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

24. Chinese FM discussed ties, Middle East with Kerry over phone
Beijing, Monday, 16 December, 2013
Foreign Minister Wang Yi called US Secretary of State John Kerry to discuss bilateral ties and exchanged views on Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and the Syrian issue.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

25. China says foreign minister's Middle East visit achieve expected goals
Beijing, Friday, 20 December, 2013
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said that Chinese Foreign Minister's visit to Israel and Palestine has achieved expected goals.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

26. Chinese FM pledges support to Arab countries
Algiers, Sunday, 22 December, 2013
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi pledged support to Arab countries during a joint press conference with his Algerian counterpart Ramtane Lamamra.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

27. China keen to boost strategic ties with Gulf States: FM
Riyadh, Thursday, 26 December, 2013
In meeting with the GCC General Secretary Abdullateef Al Zayani in Riyadh, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi underlined China's keenness to promote strategic cooperation and ties in all fields with GCC countries.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES
EGYPT
28. Despite difficulties, Egypt's Red Devils maintain hope for Club World Cup
Cairo, Sunday, 8 December, 2013
Al-Ahly coach Mohamed Yousef expressed hope that his team will achieve great heights in the Club World Cup, where his team would play Guanghou Evergrande of China, the Asian Champions.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

29. Egypt's state TV to air highest-rated Chinese show
Cairo, Thursday, 19 December, 2013
Egypt's State TV signed a protocol with China Radio International on airing a popular Chinese soap opera for the first time in the channel's history.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

ISRAEL
30. Israeli seeks fortune in China
Haikou, Thursday, 12 December, 2013
Yuval Golan, an employee at the Israeli Embassy in the Netherlands set up his own tourism and marketing business in Haikou, China.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

31. Israeli Nobel Prize laureate selected foreign academician of CAS
Beijing, Thursday, 19 December, 2013
Israeli bio-chemist Aaron Ciechanover along with eight other foreign scientists was elected foreign academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences for 2013.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

COMPILED BY DIPANWITA CHAKRAVORTTY

Dipanwita Chakravortty is a doctoral candidate in School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.  Email

As part of its editorial policy, the MEI@ND standardizes spelling and date formats to make the text uniformly accessible and stylistically consistent. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views/positions of the MEI@ND. Editor, MEI@ND: P R Kumaraswamy