Visiting Chinese Middle East envoy Wang Shijie in Cairo Thursday criticized Israel's insistence on building the so-called separation wall.

"The construction of the wall is not conducive to promoting mutual trust between the Palestinians and Israel or pushing forward the peace process," Wang told reporters after meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher.

Despite a resolution approved by the UN General Assembly on Tuesday demanding that Israel halt its construction of the wall, Israel claimed it would keep on building the fence.

"The fence will continue being built and we will go on taking care of the security of Israel's citizens," Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told Israel Radio Wednesday morning.

Israel decided to build the 360-kilometer-long controversial security fence along its border in June last year. The first phase of the project was completed several months ago.

The Palestinian side has showed repeated opposition to the construction of the wall as it cuts deeply into the West Bank, part of the Palestinian territories.

As for the mounting Palestinian-Israeli tension, the Chinese envoy said, "China is deeply concerned about the current situation in the occupied Palestinian lands."

"China, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, will play its due role in helping advance the peace process," he said, while urging the international community to make more efforts to salvage the peace march.

Wang arrived here Tuesday afternoon as part of his third Middle East trip, which has taken him to Syria and will later take him to Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, the Palestinian self-ruled areas and Israel.

On Wednesday, Wang held separate talks with Osama al-Baz, political advisor to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, and Arab League chief Amr Moussa on the volatile Middle East situation.

The Palestinian-Israeli conflict flared up a few weeks ago, dealing a heavy blow to the so-called roadmap peace plan.

The internationally drafted blueprint requires reciprocal steps to be taken by Israel and the Palestinians toward peace and envisions a full Palestinian statehood by 2005.

(Xinhua News Agency October 24, 2003)