China on Saturday said it "welcomes" and "supports" the Resolution 1701 unanimously adopted by the United Nations Security Council on the Lebanon-Israel conflict, according to the Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Office.

"China hopes the concerned sides will implement the Security Council resolution in a tangible manner, restore peace and stability in the Middle East region at an early date and China will continue its efforts for that," the office said in response to journalists' questions.

The UN Security Council early Saturday morning unanimously adopted a compromise resolution on the ongoing violence in Lebanon and Israel after much hard negotiations between the concerned parties.

The one month-long conflict has caused large number of civilian casualties and led to humanitarian disaster as well as damage to regional peace and security.

China kept pushing the UN Security Council to take actions, urged the concerned sides to ceasefire and turn back to the track of seeking political solution, the office said.

Chinese Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Liu Zhenmin said after the resolution was adopted that it has "formed a good foundation for future efforts to achieve long-term political solution to the Lebanon-Israel issue."

However, the Chinese envoy stressed that the adoption of the resolution is just the first step, and the parties concerned are faced with more arduous tasks.

China has sent a special envoy on the Middle East Sun Bigan to Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, Egypt and Saudi Arabia to ask the concerned parties to ceasefire and seek a political framework for a long-term solution to the conflict to avoid further disaster.

The resolution, drafted by France and the United States, called for Israeli troops withdrawal and authorized an increase of the existing UN force in Lebanon to 15,000 troops to help Lebanese troops take control of south Lebanon as Israel withdraws.

The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah erupted on July 12 when Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers and killed eight during cross-border raids.

Currently, about 10,000 Israeli troops are operating in south Lebanon and have been engaged in fierce confrontations with Hezbollah guerillas.

Israel stepped up its massive offensive in Lebanon as Hezbollah continued showering Israel with rockets.

Over 120 Israelis and about 1,000 Lebanese have been killed in the fighting.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour has called earlier this week for a thorough probe of human rights violations in the conflict in Lebanon and northern Israel.

"China condemns all actions that destabilize the Mideast situation, it condemns all attacks on civilians and civilian facilities, and calls on related parties to immediately halt all hostilities," Sha Zukang, Chinese ambassador to the UN Office in Geneva said on Friday while addressing a special session of the UN Human Rights Council.

(Xinhua News Agency August 12, 2006)