On October 12, Chinese President Jiang Zemin sent separate messages to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, expressing deep concern over the ongoing clashes between the Israeli forces and the Palestinians.

President Jiang said that as the Palestine-Israel peace talks are at a critical stage, China urges all relevant parties to take immediate measures to prevent the situation from deteriorating, and stop all words and deeds not conducive to the talks.

President Jiang said that China has consistently stood for the settlement of differences through negotiations and dialogue. Violent clashes only add to mutual hatred, while negotiations and dialogue bring hope and peace. Peace is a long-cherished common aspiration of the peoples in the region and is in the interests of Palestine, Israel and all other countries in the region.

President Jiang expressed the hope that Israel and Palestine would resume peace talks as soon as possible and take flexible and pragmatic positions to seek a final settlement of the Palestinian issue on the basis of the relevant U.N. resolutions. China supports the peace-making efforts of the international community and is willing to make its own contributions together with the international community to push forward the Middle East peace process.