China and Jordan yesterday signed a series of agreements on
cooperation, including partnership in the peaceful use of nuclear
energy and increasing bilateral investment.
President Hu Jintao and Jordanian King Abdullah II Bin
Al-Hussein officiated at the signing of the agreements in Beijing,
and agreed to work together to promote the peace process in the
Middle East.
China is ready to back the international community, including
Jordan, and play a positive role in easing tensions in the Middle
East to promote all-round, equitable and lasting peace, Hu
said.
"China supports international efforts, including the Arab Peace
Initiative, for peace in the Middle East," Hu said.
"We hope the parties involved handle their disputes properly
through dialogues and consultations in line with related UN
resolutions and the principle of 'land for peace' to seek peaceful
coexistence."
A US-proposed international conference on the Middle East will
be held next month in Annapolis, the US, to find ways to restore
peace in the region.
Jordan joined other Arab countries earlier this year in
reaffirming its commitment to the Arab Peace Initiative as a
framework for the resumption of peace talks.
The initiative offers to recognize the state of Israel by all
Arab countries provided Tel-Aviv withdraws from all Arab
territories occupied in the 1967 war, including East Jerusalem.
Jordan considers the meeting an "important opportunity" for
resolving the long-standing Palestinian-Israeli conflict and hopes
the conference would come up with concrete results.
The crux of the Middle East problem is the conflict between
Palestine and Israel, so the priority should be to push for
Palestinian-Israeli peace talks. Only then can it's possible to
restore peace and achieve peaceful coexistence, Abdullah II
said.
"Jordan appreciates and attaches great importance to China's
constructive role in the Middle East peace process and hopes it
would continue its efforts," he said.
Earlier, in a speech at Peking University, he said Jordanians
regard China as an "honest peace broker" in the Middle East.
Abdullah II's four-day state visit to China marked the 30th
anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. This
is his fifth visit to China since he was crowned in 1999.
Talking on bilateral relations, Hu gave a four-point proposal to
strengthen China-Jordan ties: deepening political relations,
expanding economic and trade cooperation, widening areas of
cooperation itself and promoting exchanges in cultural, educational
and other fields.
China will import more products from Jordan, make it easier to
promote Jordanian products in China, and encourage and support
cooperation between the two countries' enterprises in trade,
investment, services and logistics.
Abdullah II said Jordan has prioritized developing ties with
China. Jordan hopes to improve cooperation with China in trade and
energy and see the early opening of direct flights between the two
countries.
(China Daily October 31, 2007)
