China welcomes the positive gestures made by Kadima Party following Tuesday's Israeli general elections, said China's new special envoy for Middle East affairs on Wednesday.

Sun Bigan, who will become China's Special Envoy for Middle East Affairs as of April 1 succeeding Wang Shijie, made the statement while meeting the press on Wednesday afternoon.

Israeli Central Election Commission said on Wednesday that Israel's centrist Kadima Party headed by acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert won the general elections, taking 28 seats in the 120-seat Knesset (parliament).

Olmert, who assumed the premiership after Sharon fell ill in January, said he is ready for peace talks if the Palestinians show willingness for compromise in the near future, and vowed to continue Sharon's policy and draw Israel's borders by 2010 by carrying out further unilateral withdrawals from the West Bank.

"The election result indicated the choice of the Israeli people," Sun said. "Whoever wins the election, Israel should follow the peaceful approaches and resolve issues through negotiation."

"China welcomes the positive gestures made by Kadima Party so far," Sun said. "We sincerely hope that the parties involved in Middle East issues could continue to settle issues through peaceful negotiations on the basis of the UN resolutions and the land-for-peace principle."

Source: Xinhua