Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has told Israeli President Isaac Herzog that Israel must stop and reverse the “forced establishment” of West Bank settlements, according to a statement from the Chinese foreign ministry which was issued on Friday.

The statement said that Mr Wang spoke to Mr Herzog during a meeting in Azerbaijan.

He said that Beijing had consistently maintained that the Palestinian question represents the greatest historical injustice of this century.

Encouraging peace and reconciliation within the region serves as the “cornerstone” of China’s Middle East policy, Mr Wang said.

China considers the “two-state solution”, which would establish an independent Palestinian state alongside the state of Israel, to be the correct route to resolution.

Mr Wang said that the immediate priority is fully opening access to the Gaza Strip so a humanitarian “catastrophe” is not allowed to spread.

Beijing remains willing to work alongside the international community to push all parties towards return to dialogue and consultation, he said.

China has long backed the Palestinian cause, while Beijing also maintains close diplomatic ties with Iran, Israel’s primary regional foe.

In September, Ed Miliband accused the Israeli government of turning a blind eye to “ethnic cleansing” in the West Bank.

He also announced a series of sweeping sanctions on trade with illegal settlements, in a dramatic downturn in relations between the UK and Israel.

In a move he said marked a “new approach” to ties between the two countries, the foreign secretary declared the occupation of the West Bank as a whole was unlawful, going beyond the previous position that only described the settlements themselves as illegal.

Both Israel and the US criticised the UK’s stance, which will see a ban on imports from illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and sanctions on individuals and firms providing services to settlers.

Israel immediately responded with a range of retaliatory measures, including the closure of the British consulate in Jerusalem and the expulsion of British officials from a Gaza coordination centre, with Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar branding the UK’s move “morally distorted” and accusing Mr Miliband of “outrageous lies”.

He said the British government’s measures had “echoes of the antisemitic words” of the past, and claimed Labour has been “hostile” towards Israel since the party was re-elected.