China is open to a US-proposed international meeting to discuss the Middle East peace process slated for later this year in Annapolis of the United States, State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan said on Wednesday.

China will actively join all the international efforts that are helpful for the Middle East peace process, strengthen communication and coordination with relevant sides, and play a constructive role as always, Tang said when meeting with Middle East Quartet Envoy Tony Blair.

Blair said the Middle East issue is of vital importance to regional and world stability. The international meeting will play an important role in promoting Palestine-Israel peace talks and restart the peace process, and he hopes relevant sides can grasp the opportunity and make more efforts to promote the peace process.

The meeting, proposed by US President George W. Bush in July, is designed to include Israel, the Palestinian National Authority and some Arab nations to help revive the stalled Middle East peace talks.

Tang said the prolonged solution of the Middle East issue not only affects peace and stability in the region, but also world peace and development.

"China supports the ongoing consultations and negotiations between Palestine and Israel, and hopes the two sides can continue dialogues and achieve substantial results as soon as possible," he said.

He also called for an early, fair and rational resolution of the Middle East issue with broad participation from the international community and relevant sides.

Tang also spoke highly of the efforts Blair has made to promote the China-Britain relations during his term as former British Prime Minister.

Blair, envoy of the Quartet namely the UN, the EU, the US and Russia, is in China for a business meeting of the Boao Forum for Asia.

(Xinhua News Agency November 7, 2007)