Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal met in Jedda yesterday
with visiting Chinese Mideast envoy Sun Bigan to discuss bilateral
ties and the implementation of a UN resolution on cease-fire in
Lebanon.?
Sun said China was satisfied with the rapid development of
bilateral ties and willing to work with Saudi Arabia to implement
the consensus reached by President Hu Jintao and Saudi King Abdullah bin
Abdul-Aziz on deepening cooperation in various fields.?
Al-Faisal said the kingdom has a strong political will to
develop its relationship with China.?
On the Lebanon situation Sun said China was ready to work with
Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries to help implement UN Security
Council Resolution 1701 in a bid to ensure Lebanon's stability and
progress in the reconstruction process.
The Saudi foreign minister said Arab countries would make every
effort to help implement the resolution. He added that the
international community should help the Lebanese government to
control the whole of the country as soon as possible, strengthen
the status of their armed forces and push forward the
reconstruction process after a cease-fire between Lebanese
Hezbollah and Israel came into effect Monday.?
He also praised China's efforts to help defuse Israel-Lebanon
tensions and expressed hope that China would play a bigger role in
forming an expanded UN force in Lebanon and the reconstruction
process itself.
Sun left for home Wednesday evening. He'd also visited Syria,
Jordan, Palestine, Israel and Egypt.
(Xinhua News Agency August 17, 2006)