Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Ishtaye speaks in an exclusive interview with Xinhua in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Sept. 18, 2019. (Xinhua/Guo Yu)

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Ishtaye hailed the Belt and Road Initiative and Chinese aid to Palestine, like training course and scholarships, as well as the industrial zone and solar energy projects.

RAMALLAH, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Ishtaye said that Palestine is proud of China's development achievements and solid bilateral ties.

"We are proud of the achievements of the People's Republic of China (PRC)," Ishtaye said in an interview with Xinhua at his West Bank office in Ramallah city ahead of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the PRC.

He hailed the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and Chinese aid to Palestine, like training course and scholarships, as well as the industrial zone and solar energy projects.

Monks from China's Shaolin Temple perform Kungfu on the occasion of celebrating Chinese New Year with Palestinians in West Bank city of Ramallah, on Jan. 22, 2017. (Xinhua/Fadi Arouri)

Ishtaye stressed that Palestine-China relations are "historic" and exchanges of high-level visits between the two countries have been very frequent since late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat visited China in 1964 for the first time.

"President Abbas visits China almost every year" in recent years, said Ishtaye, who also visited China several times. "We take pride in our relationship with China," he added.

Ishtaye hailed China's support for Palestine, stressing that as a close friend for Palestine, China stands by Palestine in all international platforms, apart from its aid to the Palestinian people.

A Palestinian vendor displays Chinese dress at her store, in the West Bank city of Nablus, on Sept. 12, 2015. (Xinhua/Nidal Eshtayeh)

On the political front, Ishtaye stressed that Palestine welcomes China's four-point proposal for solving the Palestinian issue.

Chinese President Xi Jinping put forward the proposal when he met with visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in 2017.

He also expressed the hope that more Chinese business people would visit and invest in Palestine, particularly at a time when the United States is cutting its aid to the country. ■