Li Peng, China's top legislator, said in Ramallah on November 27 that as long as all parties concerned implement the relevant UN resolutions and follow the principle of "land for peace," the peace in the Middle East can be realized.

Li, chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress, made this remark while addressing the special session of Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) held in his honor.

The Middle East issue, which is an important international issue related to regional and world peace, is concerned by all, Li said.

He said the half-century-old Arab-Israeli conflict has not only caused profound hardships to the Palestinian people, but also hindered greatly the economic construction and development of the whole Middle East region.

Therefore, he said, an early realization of the Middle East peace is not only the urgent wish of all countries of the region, but an urgent requirement of the present times.

If the parties concerned respect the history and face the reality, a lasting peace can be achieved in the region, he added.

The Chinese government and people highly appreciated the strategic choice made by the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) headed by President Yasser Arafat of solving the Palestinian-Israeli dispute through negotiations, and do believe that this objective can be realized if the parties concerned conduct negotiations flexibly, he said.

China, as always, maintains an independent and peaceful foreign policy and supports the principled stand of the Arab people, their just cause and the peace process, and has made constant efforts in pushing this process forward, he said.

China will, together with the parties concerned and the international community, continue to make efforts to help solve the Middle East issue with the Palestinian issue as its core and help the Palestinian people realize their objective of achieving lasting peace, he stressed.

Li also praised the achievements made by the Palestinian people in their historical struggle for national independence, their economic development and reconstruction in the territories, under the leadership of Arafat.

He said the Sino-Palestinian relations, established in 1964, remain very friendly despite changes in the region and the world as a whole.

China values the friendly Sino-Palestinian relationship and is willing to further cooperation between the two sides in all fields on the basis of mutual trust and mutual benefit, he said.

"I reinterate to all of our friends present here, supporting the just cause of the Palestinian people is the set policy jointly adopted by the Chinese leaders of three generations, and the Chinese people will always remain reliable friends to the Palestinian people," Li said.

PLC Speaker Ahmet Qurei delivered his welcoming address earlier.

Li arrived here Saturday morning from Israel for a short visit. He held talks with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat before attending the PLC special session.