China inks ‘strategic partnership’ with Palestinan Authority

Subject: International Relations

Section: Places in news

Concept :

China said Wednesday that it established a “strategic partnership” with the Palestinian Authority during a visit to Beijing by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
The announcement marked another step in China’s campaign to gain political and economic influence in the Middle East, where it is competing with the United States.
China is seeking energy resources and markets for its military and civilian exports while also promoting its version of authoritarian government as part of joint challenge with Russia to the Western-led democratic world order.

State of Palestine

Palestine is a state located in the Southern Levant region of Western Asia.
Officially governed by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), it claims the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip as its territory, though the entirety of that territory has been under Israeli occupation since the 1967 Six-Day War.
As a result of the Oslo Accords of 1993–1995, the West Bank is currently divided into 165 Palestinian enclaves that are under partial Palestinian National Authority (PNA) rule; the remainder, including 200 Israeli settlements, is under full Israeli control.
The Gaza Strip has been ruled by the militant Islamic group Hamas and has been subject to a long-term blockade by Egypt and Israel since 2007.