Premier Zhu Rongji yesterday repeated China's call for an early pull-out of Israeli troops from Palestinian-controlled territory. During his meeting with visiting Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, Zhu said the Chinese Government is deeply worried about the situation in the Middle East.
China strongly urges Israel to abide unconditionally by the relevant resolutions of the United Nations (UN) Security Council and withdraw from the Palestinian-controlled territory as soon as possible, said Zhu.
Zhu, denouncing the tit-for-tat violence in the region, said that political dialogue based on the UN Security Council's resolutions and the principle of "land for peace" is the only correct and effective way out.
He pledged China will continue to work with the international community to ease the current tension and bring an early, just and rational resolution of the issue.
According to a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hariri told Zhu that he hoped that major countries including China will play an active role in pushing the peace talks in the Middle East.
Hariri arrived in China on Saturday for a three-day visit, which Zhu yesterday said will "inject new momentum" into bilateral co-operation.
(China Daily April 29, 2002)
