Speaking at a press conference held in Tel Aviv on Thursday, visiting Chinese special envoy Wang Shijie told reporters that China welcomes and supports the Mideast peace roadmap, and hopes Israel and the Palestinians can seize this opportunity and cooperate with the international community in promoting peace process.

The roadmap, which is formulated by the international mediation quartet, including the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations, is designed to help the Palestinians to establish their country by 2005.

China calls for Israel to withdraw its forces from the Palestinian areas it has re-captured since the outbreak of the conflict in September 2000, and ease up the humanitarian crisis the Palestinian people are suffering, according to the special envoy. Meanwhile, Wang stressed that Israel's demand for its security should be taken seriously, and that the Palestinian side is under an obligation to take effective measures to stop extreme violence against the Israelis.

The special envoy hoped that the two sides would start solving their differences first with easy problems and in a "give-and-take" manner.

Wang said China calls for the international community to set a just, authoritative and effective mechanism to monitor the implementation of the roadmap plan.

China would propose a peace conference participated by the UN Security Council's five permanent members and related parties, he said.

As for the future talks between Israel and Syria and Lebanon, Wang said the talks should be based on related UN resolutions, the "Land for Peace" principle, as well as agreements and common understanding reached by related parties.

During his four-day tour to the region, which is concluded on Thursday, Wang met with Israeli Foreign Minster Silvan Shalom and Palestinian National Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas and Foreign Minister Nabil Sha'ath.

Early on Thursday, the special envoy also met with former Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres at the latter's peace center in Tel Aviv. Peres, one of architects of the Middle East peace process, is expected to serve as the Labor party's temporary chairman.

(Xinhua News Agency May 23, 2003)