Arafat Leaves for China

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

 ◆ Arafat Leaves for China

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat left Gaza Sunday morning for Beijing for a working visit to China. Arafat is expected to hold talks with Chinese President Jiang Zemin and other Chinese officials and brief them on the failed Camp David talks in the U.S. with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak under the auspices of U.S President Bill Clinton. The 15-day Camp David talks last month failed to achieve a breakthrough over core final status issues, such as the fate of Jerusalem, the return of Palestinian refugees, borders and security, for a comprehensive Palestinian-Israeli peace. He is also expected to discuss with the Chinese leaders the latest developments in the Middle East peace process, especially on the Palestinian-Israeli track, and ways to reinvigorate it. Arafat will stopover in Pakistan on the way to China and he will travel on to India, Japan and some other Asian countries after his visit to China. The Palestinian leader is on international tour to drum up support for the Palestinian stance in the talks with Israel and its statehood declaration scheduled for September 13. Arafat has visited 20 Arab, Islamic and European nations following the collapse of the Camp David talks.