Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat left Gaza on August 13 for Beijing for a working visit to China.
Arafat is expected to hold talks with President Jiang Zemin and other Chinese officials and brief them on the failed Camp David talks in the United States with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak under the auspices of US President Bill Clinton.
The 15-day Camp David talks last month failed to achieve a breakthrough over core final status issues, such as the fate of Jerusalem, the return of Palestinian refugees, borders and security, for a comprehensive Palestinian-Israeli peace.
He is also expected to discuss with Chinese leaders the latest developments in the Middle East peace process, especially on the Palestinian-Israeli track, and ways to reinvigorate it.
Arafat will make a stopover in Pakistan on the way to China and he will travel on to India, Japan and some other Asian countries after his visit to China.
The Palestinian leader is on an international tour to drum up support for the Palestinian stance in the talks with Israel and its statehood declaration scheduled for September 13.
Arafat has visited 20 Arab, Islamic and European nations following the collapse of the Camp David talks.
In addition, Israeli Minister of Regional Co-operation Shimon Peres will visit China August 16-17 at the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zhu Bangzao said during the weekend.
Israel, Palestine and the United States have all voiced optimism about the prospect of resuming formal three-way talks at the start of a month-long countdown to peace.
US Assistant Secretary of State Edward Walker said in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar that he expected a breakthrough soon. Walker was on his own 14-state Middle East tour to promote resuming talks after the failed Camp David summit.
"Yes, I can say that we will have a solution in the coming months with more serious work in the next month to reach a solution satisfactory to both sides," Walker told the Qatari News Agency after talks in Qatar on Saturday.
A senior Palestinian official said on Saturday that Israelis and Palestinians would resume peace talks at the end of August to try to forge a final deal by mid-September and settle their differences over Jerusalem.
US Middle East troubleshooter Dennis Ross, expected in the region next Sunday, would give the talks added impetus, the official said.
The Palestinian official said the negotiations, at a venue yet to be announced, would resume at the level of negotiators and not leaders.
(China Daily)
