China backs Palestine UN membership bid; U.S. vetoes request

China voted on a draft resolution before the UN Security Council (UNSC) for Palestine to become a full member of the United Nations (UN) on Thursday.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had urged the United States (U.S.), a key ally of Israel, to “put aside its ego and listen carefully to what the international community says.” “I believe American government officials should learn basic knowledge,” he added.

The resolution required nine votes in favour to pass, with the condition that none of the five permanent members—the US, the UK, France, Russia, and China—vote against it.

Once Palestine received the UNSC’s recommendation, the next step would have been to get a two-thirds majority vote of the 193-member UN General Assembly before it could become a full member.

But when the vote was taken, the U.S. used its veto power in the 15-member UNSC to oppose the draft resolution that would give Palestine full member status at the UN.

There were 12 votes in favour of the resolution: China, Russia, France, Japan, South Korea, Guyana, Ecuador, Algeria, Malta, Slovenia, Sierra Leone, and Mozambique. Two member states—the U.K. and Switzerland—abstained from voting.

United States Ambassador to the United Nations Robert Wood votes against a resolution during a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo / Yuki Iwamura)

The Palestinian State condemned the U.S. veto and said it is a "blatant violation of international law" that encourages Israel to continue its war against the Palestinians.

The Palestinian representative to the UN, Ziad Abu Amr, said he saluted the countries that voted in favour of the proposed resolution. "We will not disappear. Give us our rights," he said.

Amid the ongoing war in Gaza, Palestine submitted a request to the Secretary-General on April 2, asking that a 2011 request to become a UN Member State be reconsidered.

Palestine has been a Permanent Observer at the UN since 2012, before which it was an observer in the UN General Assembly.