Chinese special envoy on Middle East issues Wang Shijie said in Beijing Wednesday that China is willing to see the scenario of an independent state of Palestine co-existing peacefully with Israel.  

Wang, who made his fourth Middle East trip from June 1 to 8, said the Chinese side shared many similar views with the leaders of Palestine, Jordan and Syria, whom he met during his trip.

The special envoy said China has always supported the just cause of Arabian and Palestinian people, and Palestine's legitimate rights including setting up an independent state, and the principle of land-for-peace and negotiation for peaceful solutions.

Wang said that currently there are no specific new proposals or initiatives from the Chinese side on the Middle East issues "because the position of the Chinese side is clear-cut and it remains unchanged."

But the envoy added that "maybe in the future at a convenient time, we will set forth some proposals."

"At present, there are numerous proposals and initiatives on the settlement of the Middle East problems ... but the priority is whether we could kick off negotiations involving parties concerned," Wang acknowledged.

Wang went on to note that Palestine, Jordan and Syria agreed that the Middle East peace process has come to a dilemma and the humanitarian condition and livelihood of the Palestinian people are deteriorating.

The three parties urged the international community to exert more efforts to help prevent the occurrence of larger-scale conflicts, Wang said.

He added that the three also expressed their readiness to take peaceful solutions as their strategic options and to carry out peaceful negotiations with Israel to seek the final solution of the Middle East issues.

Meanwhile, Wang said the three parties also had their own concerns.

Palestine has shown its concern over the unilateral pullout plan proposed by the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, said Wang.

The Palestine side welcomes the pullout, but it said that Sharon's unilateral plan was in effect a deviation from the road map peace plan, which the Palestine side was dissatisfied with, Wang added.

He noted that Jordan has shown great concern over the building of separation wall by Israel, as the wall may result in a new wave of Palestinian refugees.

Syria voiced its strong opposition to the imposed sanctions from the United States and its willingness to resume talks with Israel and pick up negotiations from where it stopped, Wang said.

Wang said China holds that the Middle East peace process can not go on without the participation of Syria, who is a crucial party in this field and China supported Syria to restart talks with Israel.

(Xinhua News Agency June 17, 2004)