China welcomes and supports the "road map" peace plan for the Middle East, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said in Beijing Thursday.

Zhang made the remark in response to a request for comment on the peace plan unveiled Wednesday by the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations.

China hopes that the Israeli and Palestinian sides would seize this favorable opportunity, take effective measures and actively cooperate with the peace efforts by relevant parties so that the plan could be implemented as soon as possible and the Palestine issue be resolved at an early date in order to realize lasting peace and stability in the region, Zhang said.

(Xinhua News Agency May 1, 2003)