Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing consulted over the telephone Sunday evening with his Saudi Arabian counterpart, Saud Al-Faisal during which the two officials exchanged views on the Iraq issue.

Li introduced China's position on Iraq's post-war arrangements and reconstruction and said China hopes that Iraq's domestic situation will stabilize as soon as possible. He added that China will provide additional humanitarian assistance for the Iraqi people.

Li said Iraq's post-war arrangements constitute a very complicated issue which should safeguard the fundamental interests of the Iraqi people and the region's peace and stability, and the issue should be handled in accordance with the spirit of the UN Charter.

He noted that China and Saudi Arabia share wide-ranging consensus in this regard, and China will cooperate with the parties concerned, including Saudi Arabia, and take an active part in Iraq's post-war reconstruction.

Faisal said Iraq's security situation is worrying and that the UN Security Council should play a key role in Iraq's security and stability, which would be conducive to Iraq's sovereignty and territorial integrity and to peace and stability in the region.

Faisal expressed his sympathy and concern to China, which has been affected by severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), saying that the Saudi Arabian people will stand by the Chinese people in the fight against SARS and that the Chinese government will lead the Chinese people to a victory over SARS.

(Xinhua News Agency May 12, 2003)