Chinese President Xi Jinping called on Thursday for a peace conference on the war between Israel and Palestinian Hamas as he addressed Arab leaders and diplomats at a forum in Beijing.

China is this week hosting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and several other Arab leaders for a forum at which discussions on the war in Gaza were expected.

Addressing the delegations on Thursday morning, Xi said China supported a “broad-based” peace conference to resolve the conflict.

“The Middle East is a land bestowed with broad prospects for development, but the war is still raging on it,” Xi said.

“War should not continue indefinitely. Justice should not be absent forever,” he added.

Xi also said China “supports Palestine’s full membership in the UN, and supports a more broad-based, authoritative and effective international peace conference”.

China, which has good relations with Israel, has advocated for decades for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.