Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao yesterday stressed that the leader of Palestine should be elected independently by the Palestinian people and that the international community should respect their choice.
Commenting on Bush's new Middle East peace plan at yesterday's regular briefing, Liu repeated that China welcomes US efforts in promoting peace between Palestine and Israel.
Liu also urged the United States to stop selling weapons to Taiwan.
"The US will violate its one-China policy and the principles of the three Sino-US joint communiqués by selling weapons to Taiwan and will harm Sino-US ties and peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits."
He was responding to reports that the US will send officials to Taiwan to discuss arms sales.
However, Liu was full of praise for sporting exchanges between China and the US.
He congratulated Chinese basketball centre Yao Ming on being selected by the Houston Rockets, the National Basketball Association team with the top pick in this year's NBA draft.
Chinese players Wang Zhizhi and Menk Batere have already played in the NBA.
Liu said: "Their participation in the NBA will help promote exchanges in sports and culture and understanding between the two peoples."
The spokesman confirmed that Pakistani Foreign Secretary Inamul Haque will visit China from today until Sunday to exchange views with Chinese officials on bilateral relations and regional and international issues of common concern.
The visit occurs at a time when efforts by both India and Pakistan have eased the tension between them for the time being.
"India and Pakistan should restart dialogue as soon as possible and resolve their disputes, including the Kashmir issue, in a peaceful way to achieve peaceful coexistence," said Liu.
(China Daily June 28, 2002)
