Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Tuesday called on the international community to pay more attention to the hardship of the Palestinian people, and to take concrete measures to boost the peace process.  

During a meeting with Wang Shijie, China's special envoy on the Middle East issue, Arafat said he is grateful to the Chinese government for its important role on the Middle East issue and its great support to the Palestinian people.

Wang said the Chinese government and its people have shown deep concern about the Middle East issue, especially the development of the situation between Palestine and Israel.

The Chinese government always believes that peace talks are the only way to solve this issue, and relevant UN resolutions and the principle of "territory for peace" are the basis for the talks, he said.

China will continue to support the Palestinian people's efforts in retaking their national rights, establishing an independent Palestinian state and implementing the "roadmap" peace plan, Wang added.

Earlier, Wang also met with Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmad Qurei, during which Qurei said that Palestine is currently facing a very tough situation.

Because all peace talks are frozen by the Israeli side and the United States has adopted a policy in favor of Israel, the process has come to a deadlock, he said.

On Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's disengagement plan, Qurei said Palestine backs any pullout operations, but the operations should be based on bilateral negotiations. Sharon's plan should be carried out as part of the "roadmap," he stressed.

Qurei urged Israel to withdraw from all occupied territories, saying he is opposed to linking the disengagement plan with the talks on the final positions of Palestine and Israel.

Wang arrived in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Tuesday for a one-day visit aimed at promoting the Middle East peace process.

Palestine is the first leg of his Middle East tour, which will also take him to Jordan and Syria.

(Xinhua News Agency June 2, 2004)