Kong had been asked at a regular briefing in Beijing Thursday about China's position on a new United States draft resolution on Iraq presented to the United Nations Security Council. "On the whole, we believe that the new resolution has taken into consideration some of the concerns and worries of relevant countries," Kong said.

"China will play a constructive role in promoting each side to consult one another on the draft resolution, to further take into consideration the concerns of various parties in order to reach consensus at an early date," he said.

The purpose of the consultations was to ensure the "smooth and early return of UN weapons inspectors in order to solve the Iraq question politically," he said.

China is ready to play a constructive role in the consultation process by taking advantage of its rotating chairmanship of the top UN decision-making body this month, Kong said.

In another development related to the Middle East, Chinese envoy Wang Shijie stressed that China hopes for a comprehensive, just and durable settlement to Middle East issues.

Wang said this to reporters upon his arrival on Wednesday at the Egyptian capital Cairo, the first stop of his maiden Middle East visit.

"China, as one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, enjoys good relationships with countries in the region. Therefore, China has a responsibility and obligation to take part in and push ahead with the Middle East peace process," he told reporters after meeting with Arab League chief Amr Moussa.

At the briefing, Kong was also asked whether a halt to train traffic in the border areas between China and Mongolia was related to the Dalai Lama's visit to Mongolia.

Kong confirmed that it was stopped for technical reasons and rejected the reports that China has closed the border. He added that the technical problems had since been solved.

(China Daily November 8, 2002)