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China's leaders drawn into Middle East peace process

China's leaders have been drawn into the search for peace in the Middle East.

China correspondent Tom O'Byrne reports the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat will hold talks in the Chinese capital ahead of proposed peace talks in Europe next week.

China has been a consistent supporter of the Palestinian cause, and a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council gives China what it calls a background role in searching for a resolution to the conflict in the Middle East. As part of an Asia visit that will also take in India, Palestinian Authority chairman Arafat will hold talks with China's premier Jiang Zemin and other top officials. He is expected to ask for Chinese support for the security council to vote for international peacekeepers to be sent to the occupied territories. After decades of inactivity, China only last year joined its first peacekeeping operation by sending police to East Timor. China's foreign ministry has given no indication of how it will react to the request.

23/08/01 15:17:47 | ABC Radio Australia News

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