"China has always held that the Iraqi issue should be resolved in diplomatic and political ways," she said at a regular briefing.

"Therefore we have a positive attitude towards the proposal raised by countries concerned."

The foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iran and Turkey met yesterday in Istanbul at the initiative of Turkey to work towards a peaceful solution of the Iraqi issue.

The spokeswoman said Chinese special envoy to the Middle East, Wang Shijie, who is in Beijing, has kept in contact with the parties concerned.

"We hope that progress will be made concerning the proposal," said Zhang, adding that China is willing to take an active part in resolving the Middle East issue.

With the United States busy deploying its military forces in the Middle East, some countries have shown concern over the possible US-Iraq war.

"We are worried about the current build-up of a large scale military force in the region," Zhang said.

Zhang said she hoped the countries concerned would choose to take the political and diplomatic path to resolve the issue.

Earlier this week, France and Germany expressed their objection to a US attack on Iraq.

Turning to the case of Hirasima Kudeko, a Japanese woman who was reportedly kidnapped by people smugglers whom she hired to help take her from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to China, Zhang said police were still verifying her identity.

However, Zhang described the matter as "a serious abduction case."

"It has seriously violated China's laws and disrupted China's public security, so China will deal with it according to law," she said.

Zhang said at the briefing that Chinese police had seized abductors who allegedly kidnapped the Japanese woman on January 15.

In relation to the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula, the spokeswoman yesterday reiterated that the most important thing was to promote direct dialogue and prevent the issue from becoming more complicated.

(China Daily January 24, 2003)