On the afternoon of September 28, the International Press Center (IPC) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs invited Chinese Special Envoy on the Middle East Wang Shijie to hold a press briefing for domestic and international journalists as well as information officers from foreign embassies in China on his latest trip to the Middle East.

Wang said he visited Palestine, Israel, Jordan, Egypt and Morocco from September 12 to 22, which was his seventh trip to the area as the Special Envoy on the Middle East.

Wang said his current trip was aimed at exchanging views with the various parties on the development of the situation in the Middle East and the prospect of the peace process following the completion of Israel's Disengagement Plan. During his visit, Wang elaborated China's principled stance on the Middle East question, stressing the Chinese government and people would continue to support the promotion of the Middle East peace process on the basis of the principle of "oil for food" as well as the wish of the Palestinian people to found an independent Palestinian state at the earliest date possible so as to realize peaceful co-existence and common development of Palestine and Israel. All the parties expressed their gratitude and welcome to China for sending a special envoy at this time.

During his visit, Wang met with Chairman of the Palestinian National Authority Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Information Nabil Shaath, the Secretary General of the Palestinian presidency Al-Tayeb Abdul Raheem, Director General of the Department of Policies and Planning of the Foreign Ministry of Israel, Director General of Department of Political Affairs of the Ministry of Defense of Israel, Secretary General of the Foreign Ministry of Jordan and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Jordan, Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmad Nazif, Political Advisor to the Egyptian Presidency, Head of Arab Affairs in the Foreign Ministry of Egypt, Deputy Secretary General of Palestinian Affairs of the Arab League as well as Secretary General of the Ministry of Diplomacy and Cooperation of Morocco.

When talking about the overall impression of his trip to the Middle East, Wang said both the Arabs and the Palestinians feel relieved over Israel's pullout from the Gaza Strip, believing this is only the first step and follow-up activities should be continued. They think Israel should also withdraw from the occupied territories in the West Bank in line with related UN resolutions and open the passages, airport and ports in Gaza following the pullout from the area. Israel thinks the pullout is already a tough job for the country and Palestine must now disarm in Gaza and other locations.

Wang said his latest trip to Gaza was a very different experience from the past. He used to see Palestinian children throwing stones to Israeli tanks. However, he did not see Israeli tanks, armies or flags this time. Instead, Palestinian flags were flying everywhere in the street. The Palestinians were very pleased to see the termination of Israel's occupation for as long as 38 years. Meanwhile, he also noted that many places of the Gaza Strip were nothing but ruins and the infrastructure was largely destroyed. The airports and ports could not be used and many Palestinians remained unemployed. The economy was facing with severe challenges.

Wang also commented on the current situation in the Middle East. He said Israel's pullout from the Gaza Strip was a very positive move in the peace process of the Middle East and between Palestine and Israel. We, together with the international community, believe the Palestinian question must be resolved in the principle of "land for peace". It is a positive move anyway for Israel to pull out from Gaza and return the land to the Palestinians after 38 years of occupation. It is not easy for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and the Israeli government to make such a decision. Many Israeli officials and people believe this is conducive to the peace, security and economy of Israel. Just like their Palestinian counterparts, the Israeli people would not like to see the continuation of "violence for violence". What they long for is peace.

Wang said he hoped that Israel could open the border, airport, and ports to the Palestinians. Otherwise, the economy of Palestine will not be able to develop. If the issue of unemployment could not be solved, violence might continue. If the Palestinian people could not establish an independent Palestinian state, peace would not be realized in the Middle East and between Palestine and Israel, which means violence might continue. We hope Israel, with the pullout from Gaza as a starting point, could proceed to implement the roadmap plan on the Middle East in line with related UN resolutions.

Wang stressed China will continue to support and promote the Middle East peace process and the realization of a Palestinian state and peaceful co-existence with Israel according to related UN resolutions and the roadmap plan.

Wang also took questions on his visit to the Middle East from the journalists.

More than 30 journalists from over 20 news agencies as well as information officers from foreign embassies in China attended the briefing which was hosted by IPC Director Meng Mian.