On May 29, Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan expounded China’s position on the current situation in the Middle East during a meeting with visiting Saudi Arabia Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Nizar O. Madani.

Tang Jiaxuan said that the eight-month-long violent clashes between Israel and Palestine have caused heavy casualties and property losses, resulting in continuing escalation of tension in the region. The Chinese Government is very much concerned about this and does not wish to see the achievements of the Middle East peace process over the past decade become wasted. Recently, the international community has engaged in active diplomacy to address the Middle East issue and China welcomes every effort by the international community helping to ease the tension, calm down the conflicts and resume the peace talks. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China has always actively supported the Middle East peace process and opposed the abuse of force by Israel, which endangers the lives and property of Palestinian civilians.  China is opposed to Israel's economic blockade against Palestine. It is our consistent position that the relevant UN resolutions on the Middle East and the “land for peace” principle are the basis for Middle East peace talks and effective implementation by all sides of the agreements and understanding already reached serves as the prerequisite for the establishment of mutual trust between the Arab and Israeli sides. The pressing task at the moment is for Israel and Palestine to actively cooperate with the international community in its mediation efforts, quickly calm down the conflicts, and resume the peace talks at an early date. China stands ready to continue to make its due contribution to the Middle East peace process along with the rest of the international community.