China on Thursday called for an early resumption of Palestinian-Israeli peace talks, in a bid to pursue a just, proper and lasting solution to the Middle East issue.

China's special envoy to the Middle East, Sun Bigan, made the remarks in a joint interview on the Gaza situation.

"The Gaza conflict proves again that military means are not the way out for resolving Palestinian-Israeli disputes," he said.

He said that military force could only bring more hostility and enmity, without giving either side absolute safety.

Sun said international society and relevant parties, when endeavoring to ease the tense situation, should also consider carrying out feasible actions to accelerate the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks, to establish an independent Palestinian state at an early date, and to realize peaceful coexistence.

This would help prevent the repeat of the Gaza conflict, he noted.

(Xinhua News Agency January 8, 2009)