On the afternoon of June 4, 2002, Vice Premier Qian Qichen met with Head of the delegation of the Israeli government, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Housing and Construction Natan Sharansky, who is attending the summit meeting of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building in Asia held in Almaty. The two sides exchanged views on the Middle East situation.

Qian expounded the views of the Chinese side on current Middle East situation, especially the conflicts between Israel and Palestine. He stressed that the development of the Middle East situation has caused much concern. It is wished that the related parties can cooperate with the peace-promoting efforts of the international community and take concrete and effective measures to ease the tension between Israel and Palestine. Qian said that as permanent member of the UN Security Council, China will continue to work for an early and peaceful resolution of the Middle East issue.