Visiting Chinese government special envoy on the Middle East, Wang Shijie, made this appeal in meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom in Jerusalem.

Wang said China always supports solving the Middle East issue through peaceful talks, and China welcomes and supports the roadmap for the Middle East peace, which is formulated by the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations.

He said that China hopes Israel and Palestine can seize this opportunity and resume peace talks as soon as possible. The urgent matter for the two sides is to stop the vicious circle of violence, he added.

The Chinese envoy said China condemns the recent extreme violence against civilians in the region and understands and respects Israel's concerns over its security.

China hopes the two sides can solve their differences in a way of mutual understanding and mutual concessions and in a manner of easy problems first and difficult once later, the envoy said.

Wang said China also hopes that the peace talks can be resumed between Israel and Syria, and Israel and Lebanon on the bases of UN resolutions and the principles of land for peace.

During the meeting, Shalom explained the Israeli stands on the Israeli and Palestinian conflict. He said Israel appreciates China's active and constructive role in promoting peace in the Middle East.

The foreign minister said Israel pays much importance to developing cooperative relations with China and is making efforts to push the bilateral relations forward.

Wang arrived in Israel on Sunday for a four-day visit and he is going to meet Palestinian leaders in Ramallah and Gaza on Wednesday.

(China Daily May 21, 2003)