China Backs Arab Peace Plan, Says Special Envoy
Mohammed Rasooldeen
Arab News
RIYADH, 12 April 2007 — China’s Special Envoy Sun Bigan, who completed a three-day visit to the Kingdom yesterday, said his country wholeheartedly welcomes the decision taken at the 19th Arab League Summit in Riyadh to reactivate the Middle East Peace Plan proposed by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah in 2002.
Sun, who held talks with King Abdullah and Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, was briefing reporters on the first leg of his tour to the region. He is due to visit Israel, Palestine and will also hold talks with European Union officials in Brussels on the issue.
“China will support the Kingdom in its peace initiatives since the two countries share identical opinion on this issue,” Sun told reporters. He added that the recent Arab League decision is “not a call from the Arab world, but a call from the international community.”
Sun said that although the Kingdom is not a party to the issues in the Middle East, it could still play a pragmatic role in the peace process. “This was the main reason why I chose Saudi Arabia as my first destination in China’s bid to push the peace process forward,” he said.
“The purpose of my visit to the region is to hold talks with the heads of state on the current issues in the Middle East,” Sun said, adding that the current situation in the Middle East and the latest developments in the region were the main topics that were discussed with King Abdullah and Prince Saud. Ambassador Wu Chun Hua also took part in the discussions.
The special envoy stressed that peace in the Middle East could only be achieved through negotiations. “Israel has its reservations on the return of refugees and on the 1967 border issue,” he said, pointing out that they could be sorted out through peaceful dialogue. “Problems in Lebanon and Syria are major components of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; there cannot be absolute peace without solving these issues,” he added.
Speaking about Iran, he said China has already declared its stand stressing that it would confine itself to the framework of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. “We will not allow other countries to produce nuclear weapons.”
Touching on bilateral relations, Sun recalled that exchange of visits between the two heads of state within a period of three months last year, bears eloquent testimony to the degree of relations maintained by China and the Kingdom.
Bilateral trade, which started at a modest $300 million, had exceeded $20 billion at the end of 2006, he said, hoping for more trading activities between the two countries.
Sun, who had served China’s Riyadh mission for a period of five years since 1989, said, “Saudi Arabia is like my second home and I am delighted to see the mega development projects that are taking place in all parts of the Kingdom.”
China Backs Arab Peace Plan, Says Special Envoy
Author