Visiting Chinese Middle East Envoy Wang Shijie on Wednesday urged Israel and the Palestinians to take steps to build up mutual trust and pave the way for resuming peace talks.

Meeting with Israeli Labor Party Chairman Shimon Peres at the Peres Peace Center in Tel Aviv, Wang said the situation in the region is worsening and the implementation of the roadmap has encountered serious setbacks, but he still sees some hope for peace in the conflict-ridden region.

Wang briefed the Israeli opposition leader on his mission to Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the Palestinian territories, noting that leaders of these countries expressed their readiness for pushing forward the peace process and their adherence to the road of peace.

Tension in the region is in the interest of nobody, and it will also hurt the American interest in the region, Wang said. The Chinese envoy called on Israel to stop the building of separation wall and the expanding of settlements in the Palestinian territories, while urging the Palestinian side to stop violence against Israeli citizens.

He said suicide bombings will do nothing good for the Middle East peace process and neither will they do anything good for the Palestinians themselves.

During the meeting, Peres said that dispatching Chinese Middle East envoy to the region is an important action in promoting peace in the region, and that he hopes China can play a greater role in the region.

The senior Israeli politician said peace in the region will greatly benefit the expansion of Israel-China relations. Wang had met with Palestinian National Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat and Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei on the latest escalation of violence in the region on Tuesday in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

On Wednesday night, Wang concluded his mission to the region, the third one since he was appointed as Chinese Middle East envoy in September of last year.

(Xinhua News Agency October 30, 2003)