China's President Xi Jinping told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Beijing on Wednesday that "China supports Palestine to become a full member state of the United Nations," according to the official Chinese broadcaster CCTV.

He added that "the main way out for the Palestinian cause lies in the establishment of an independent Palestinian state."

Abbas is currently in Beijing for his fifth official visit to China, which will last until Friday.

The Chinese president told his Palestinian counterpart at a reception that China "is ready to strengthen coordination and cooperation with the Palestinian side, in the face of a century of global changes and new developments in the situation in the Middle East."

"Today, we will jointly announce the establishment of a strategic partnership between China and Palestine, which will mark an important milestone in the history of bilateral relations," Xi added.

Abbas will then hold talks with other senior Chinese leaders, including prime minister Li Qiang.

Beijing has sought to strengthen its foothold in the Middle East, which has caused alarm bells in Washington.

In April, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang informed his Israeli and Palestinian counterparts in separate phone calls of China's readiness to broker a peace agreement between the two sides.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Palestinian delegation and China signed cooperation agreements in Beijing on Wednesday during a meeting between President Mahmoud Abbas and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

The delegation accompanying President Abbas signed several agreements with the Chinese side, including a twinning agreement between Ramallah and Wuhan, an agreement to advance the teaching of Chinese language in Palestinian schools, a visa exemption for diplomatic passports, and a project for China to complete the paving of roads in Ramallah. 

There was also an agreement to establish technical delegations for the four projects.