Envoy calls for resumption of Palestine-Israel talks

Chinese Special Envoy to the Middle East Wu Sike called on Palestine and Israel to make efforts for the early resumption of peace talks during his recent trip to the region, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a daily news briefing on Wednesday.

Wu, who visited Israel and Palestine from Oct. 19 to 22, met with Israeli Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Intelligence Services Dan Meridor and Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon in Jerusalem.

Wu also held talks with Palestinian National Authority (PNA) President Mahmoud Abbas and chief negotiator Saeb Erekat, according to Hong.

During the talks, Wu said China viewed the Palestinian issue as the core of the Middle East issue. It was conducive to the peace and stability of the region and the world to continue to push forward a political solution to the issue, Hong said.

Wu said China supported any efforts that help promote peace talks and a political solution, urging Palestine and Israel to be far-sighted and rebuild mutual trust.

The envoy also expressed hope that all parties concerned would make practical efforts and in particular, Israel would take positive steps to halt settlement building and improve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip so as to create a good atmosphere for the early resumption of the talks.

As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China is ready to work with the international community to make a constructive contribution to the Middle East peace process, Wu was quoted as saying.

Both Palestine and Israel said they valued and appreciated China's important role in the peace process and were willing to solve outstanding issues through dialogue and negotiation, according to Hong.

Wu's trip will also take him to the UN headquarters and the United States, where he will discuss with UN officials and U.S. officials the situation in the Middle East.