Visiting China's special envoy on the Middle East issue Sun Bigan met with Israeli President Shimon Peres on Thursday.

Sun conveyed the cordial greetings from the Chinese President Hu Jintao who highly praised Peres for his long-term efforts to constructing the country and promoting the peace in the Middle East region as well as his contribution to promoting the bilateral ties between China and Israel.

For his part, Peres asked Sun to convey his best wishes to Chinese President Hu Jintao, and highly appraised China's theory on building a harmonious society.

During the meeting, Peres also vowed to continue working to strengthen the bilateral relations between the two countries.

Sun arrived in Israel on Wednesday and met with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.

This is Sun's second visit to Israel in three months. On Friday, he will travel to the West Bank city of Ramallah and meet with the Palestinian National Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

(Xinhua News Agency July 20, 2007)