China has reaffirmed its support for the Palestinian government's claims for statehood during a visit by Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki.
Chinese envoys occasionally visit Israel and the Palestinian Territories, though China has traditionally played little role in Middle East conflicts or diplomacy, despite its reliance on the region for oil.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that 70 years after a UN resolution was passed on a plan for a Jewish state, Palestinians were still prevented from having their own independent country.
"This is unfair. This kind of historical injustice must be corrected. It cannot continue," Wang said on Thursday.
It was time to overcome inertia and restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, he said.
Maliki said Palestinians appreciated and welcomed China's efforts to facilitate peace.
"And we do encourage China to do more of this kind of approach, in order to see peace ultimately achieved in our region," he said.
