Jiang's Israeli Visit a Historic Event: Barak

Jiang, Barak Talks in Jerusalem

Chinese President Jiang Zemin's first state visit to Israel is a historic event in the relations between Israel and China, said Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak Thursday evening.

Speaking at a dinner he hosted in honor of the Chinese president, Barak said both Israel and China are ancient countries in the world with rich culture and civilization and the Israeli government attaches great importance to the development of friendly relations between the two countries.

The cooperation in various fields between the two countries has a bright future and the Israeli government will continue to strive hard to further enhance such cooperation in the future for the benefits of the two peoples, Barak said.

On the issue of moving the Middle East peace process forward, Barak said his government is determined to make "painful and hard decisions" in order to realize peace with the Palestinians, the Syrians and the Lebanese.

To strike peace deals with the three sides will also create peace and stability for Israel, Barak said.

For his part, Jiang said an early settlement of the Middle East question is the shared aspiration of the international community and it is the strategic choice made by all parties concerned to embark on the road of peace talks.

"It is a long way to go and an arduous task to accomplish to bring about a just and lasting peace to the Middle East," Jiang said, adding that "to remove difficulties and obstacles in the peace process and to work for continued progress in the peace talks, requires wisdom and courage from political leaders in the region and unremitting efforts from the parties concerned."

Jiang said China believes the middle East peace process will succeed in the end and that region will eventually become one of peace, prosperity and dynamism, so long as the parties concerned engage themselves in the talks in a serious and realistic manner and on the basis of the relevant U.N. Resolutions and the principle of "land for peace."

He said the people with vision in different countries are all seriously pondering over how to further promote interaction between different nations and cultures in the world and advance the lofty cause of world peace and development in the new century.

Dismissing the so-called "clash of civilizations" argument, Jiang said that "in our view, all civilizations in history were created by people and are the common assets of all mankind."

It is possible for people of different civilizations to have exchanges, learn from each other, seek common ground while shelving differences and live in peace and harmony with each other, Jiang added.

The Chinese president arrived in Israel Wednesday on a state visit. This is the first stop of Jiang's five-nation tour that will also take him to Palestine, Turkey, Greece and South Africa.