On a three-day official visit to China, Israel's Foreign Affairs Minister Tzipi Livni is seeking support to impose more stringent sanctions on Iran. Livni also signed a tourism agreement with Chinese officials.

On Monday, Foreign Minister Livni met with senior Communist Party officials and heads

The Israeli Foreign Minister also called for a private sector boycott of business with the Islamic Republic.

of Chinese research institutes closely associated with the government.



She warned her hosts, "The Iranian regime is a dangerous regime that openly talks of its vision of wiping a state off the map and of imposing its radical, extreme ideology on the world."  Livni said that Iran analyzes the world's response on this issue, and only a determined, united world can stop the threat. "The time has come to intensify the sanctions and to take additional decisions in the Security Council, where China is a Permanent Member, for additional deeper and more significant sanctions," Livni said.



The Israeli Foreign Minister also called for a private sector boycott of business with the Islamic Republic: "The business sector, especially the Chinese business sector, has an important role to play in any activity against a nuclear Iran. Neither China nor the world can afford the domino effect that will be created in the region if the Iranian regime manages to obtain the technology it seeks."



On Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told a news conference that China opposed the use of sanctions against Iran. "The unbridled use of sanctions should not be encouraged," Jianchao said.



Call for Increased Water Resource Development

In a meeting in the Chinese capital, Liu Qi, a member of the Communist Party of China's (CPC) Central Committee, praised the development of China-Israel relations over the past 15 years. He noted the increase of high-level visits and cooperation between the two countries in the fields of high-technology, culture, water conservation, and new energy source development.



Noting the lack of water resources faced by the two countries, Foreign Minister Livni called for greater Chinese-Israeli cooperation in developing water conservation technology.



In an address to the faculty and students of international relations at the People's University in Beijing, Foreign Minister Livni charged Iran with being "behind almost every conflict that we have in the Middle East... in financing, training and arming terrorist organizations. If this dangerous regime, that wants to dictate its extreme religious ideology to others, masters the technology of developing nuclear weapons - the fragile stability that we are trying to build in the Middle East will vanish."

Livni told the students that Israel and China "are trying hard to preserve their unique tradition while developing modern and science-based societies and promote a global-oriented economy."

Encouraging Chinese Tourism to Israel

The Foreign Minister signed an agreement that is expected to boost interest among the Chinese to visit Israel. The agreement defines Israel as a priority for Chinese tour

Israel and China "are trying hard to preserve their unique tradition." -- FM LIvni

operators, who soon will offer special tour packages.



More than 16 million Chinese tour abroad each year, and the number is expected to increase as the Chinese economy grows.

Jordanian King Also Visits China

On Tuesday, King Abdullah II of Jordan addressed students at Peking University and urged China to take a more active role in Middle Eastern diplomatic affairs.

Noting that China has "good relations with all parties in our region, China's role is destined to increase in the future. We are looking for a stronger role for China." Jordanians, the Hashemite king said, regard the Chinese as "honest brokers" in relation to the nations of the Middle East.

Abdullah's visit marked the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Jordan and China.