China said Thursday it welcomes direct peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine, urging a serious and practical manner from both sides.

"We hope the two parties seize the opportunity of the peace talks to achieve positive results at an early date," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told a regular press conference.

Israel and Palestine are scheduled to resume their direct peace negotiations Thursday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are attending a U.S.-mediated summit in Washington.