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Arafat to Visit China
At the invitation of Chinese President Jiang Zemin, President of the State of Palestine and Chairman of the Palestinian National Authority Yasser Arafat will come to China on a working visit from August 23.
During his visit, Arafat will brief Chinese leaders on the current situations of the Middle East, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Sun Yuxi said Tuesday in Beijing.
The trip was announced shortly after Arafat agreed earlier in the day to meet Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres in Berlin in an effort to quell the violence.
Sadi Jaber, the Palestinian diplomatic representative in Beijing, said Arafat would likely leave China on Saturday.
He said Arafat would be pushing for continued Chinese support for a Palestinian demand for international peacekeepers to be sent to the Middle East to "protect the Palestinians".
"This invitation came from the Chinese side. It is to discuss the situation in Palestine and the violence in Palestine," he told reporters.
Arafat last visited China in August last year, just days before Peres.
A senior Beijing-based Western diplomat said Arafat's visit to China would be part of an Asian tour that would also include India.
"His purpose is like he's doing in the last 10 months -- to mobilize international support for the Palestinian position," said the diplomat.
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