China has expressed its dissatisfaction with US restrictions on Chinese textile imports and dumping duties on its colour television imports, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao yesterday in Beijing.

He said the move came at a time when the US Government and its leaders had repeatedly expressed their wish to discuss trade issues with China.

China considered some trade friction normal given Sino-US trade ties were developing so rapidly.

"China hopes the trade issue can be handled properly through dialogue and consultation on an equal footing. Any unilateral actions are not constructive and will not help resolve the disputes,'' said Liu.

Liu yesterday also announced at a regular news briefing that China's special envoy to the Middle East Wang Shijie will attend an international Geneva Initiative conference on the Palestine-Israel issue in Geneva on December 1.

Liu said the Geneva Initiative is a good attempt to achieve peace in the Middle East.

"China welcomes such an initiative and will continue to push forward the just and comprehensive settlement of the Middle East issue at an early date together with the international community,'' he said.

Wang's upcoming trip follows his visit to the Middle East in late October as part of China's diplomatic efforts to push forward the peace process in the region.

Meanwhile, China plans to host a United Nations' Asian Meeting on the Question of Palestine from December 16 to 18 in Beijing, according to the foreign ministry.

Responding to a question about foreign minister Li Zhaoxing's meeting with India's new ambassador to China Nalin Surie, Liu said bilateral relations between the two countries are developing soundly.

Liu told reporters that both Li and Surie held that the two countries should view their relationship from an international perspective because Sino-Indian relations are not only very important to the peace of South Asia but also to the stability of the world.

Liu also said China welcomes the Kashmir ceasefire announcement by India and Pakistan and hopes the momentum will continue to build and disputes between the two sides can be resolved peacefully.

Turing to the visit by Japanese diplomat Mitoji Yabunaka, Liu revealed that Yabunaka held discussions with Fu Ying, head of the Foreign Ministry's Asian affairs department, on Tuesday afternoon. The meeting was an important part of the preparatory work for the next round of six-party talks on the nuclear stand-off on the Korean Peninsula.

The spokesman also commented on the 16th round of human rights talks between China and the European Union (EU), which started yesterday. Liu gave no details of the content of the talks, but said they would enhance understanding between China and the EU in the field of human rights.

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