The US-Arab summit was held Tuesday in Sharm el-Sheikh,Egypt, and the United States, Israel and Palestine will meet Wednesday in Jordan.

"We hope these meetings will achieve positive results and push for the early resumption of Israel-Palestine peace talks and the realization of comprehensive and lasting peace in this region,'' Zhang told a regular press briefing.

She said China appreciates and supports the series of positive steps that Israel and Palestine have taken recently to push the Middle East peace process.

"We hope both sides seize the new opportunities,'' she added.

Turning to the nuclear crisis of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Zhang said China hopes dialogue will continue.

China has always supported stability and peace on the Korean Peninsula, she said.

Zhang said it serves the interests of the region and the world to bring about a nuclear weapons-free Korean Peninsula and the security concerns of the DPRK should be met at the same time.

"The Beijing talks, which were held in April, were a good beginning and considered constructive by all parties,'' Zhang said.

"We hope this process can continue.

"We do not endorse exerting pressure or using sanctions which will only complicate the situation and does not help solve the problem,'' she said.

When asked about China's stance on the suspected Iranian nuclear program, Zhang said it is the common understanding of the international community to prevent the proliferation of weapons of massive destruction.

"We have noted that Iran has officially denied having or developing any nuclear program,'' she said.

She said Iran bears the non-proliferation duty as a state party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction and the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction.

Zhang added any controversy over this issue should be solved through dialogue and consultation.

In terms of the Sino-Japanese relations, Zhang said China and Japan should bear in mind history and make joint efforts to develop healthy bilateral ties from a strategic and long-term perspective.

She said Chinese President Hu Jintao told Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi during their meeting in St. Petersburg that the Japanese government should properly deal with historical problems.

The two sides should adhere to the joint statements and other relevant documents signed by the two countries and continue to develop bilateral relations in the new century, Zhang quoted Hu as saying.

This was Hu's first meeting with the Japanese prime minister since his election, and the two leaders reached important consensus on further development of friendly bilateral ties, Zhang said.

In another development, the spokeswoman said Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will visit China during the last 10 days of this month.

President Hu Jintao and Vajpayee met in St. Petersburg on Saturday. Both agreed to enhance cooperation and push for the further development of bilateral relations.

(Sources from China Daily and Xinhua News Agency, June 4, 2003)