CAIRO, Oct 21, 2003 (Xinhua) -- China on Tuesday branded as "unwise" Israeli attempts to sideline Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

"It is unwise for Israel to isolate or sideline Arafat," Chinese Mideast envoy Wang Shijie told reporters upon his arrival in Cairo, when asked by Xinhua to comment on Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s remarks that Israel would remove Arafat from political arena.

Terming Arafat as the biggest obstacle to peace on Monday, Sharon said Israel was determined to remove the Palestinian leader.

"This man is the greatest obstacle to peace. Therefore, Israel decided to bring about his removal from the political arena," Sharon told the winter session of the Israeli parliament.

"China believes that Arafat is the legitimate leader elected by the Palestinians, and Arafat himself is willing to solve the Palestine issue through negotiations," he said.

"Arafat is the one with whom negotiations would be held," he said.

As for the so-called roadmap peace plan, Wang said the cycle of violence between the Palestinians and Israelis further weakened an already fragile trust between the two sides.

"So far, parties concerned have not given up the plan. China believes that as long as there is a glimmer of hope, efforts should be made to push forward the peace process," he said.

"It is imperative for the Palestinian and Israeli leadership to demonstrate political will to seize any chance to achieve peace," he urged.

On post-war Iraq, the Chinese envoy called for restoring Iraqi sovereignty as soon as possible, saying it was essential for the Iraqis to run their own affairs.

"China is willing to continue coordination and cooperation with Egypt in the international arena," he said.

Wang is on his third Mideast trip, which has taken him to Syria and will take him to Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, the Palestinian self- rule areas and Israel.

During his stay here, Wang is expected to hold separate talks with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher, political advisor to President Hosni Mubarak, Osama al-Baz, and Arab League chief Amr Moussa.

The Palestinian-Israeli conflict and post-war Iraq would figure high on the agenda of the talks.