President Shimon Peres on Friday told his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao, that Beijing could play an active role in stopping the Iranian nuclear threat and in halting the spread of terror in the Middle East.

During their talks at the parliament house in Beijing, Peres stressed that Israel did not want to see the destruction of Iran itself, nor was it imposing threats on Tehran, but rather was interested in seeking peace and stability in the region.

Jintao opened the meeting by thanking Peres for Israel's support following the earthquake there a few months ago. He recalled the deep friendship that already exists between Israel and China, saying Beijing was looking to expand bilateral ties in the realms of science, technology, agriculture and academia.

The Chinese leader said that Beijing was following progress in the Middle East and would stand by Israel's side to ensure regional peace and stability.

Although hundreds of world leaders were invited to the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, only eight were afforded the honor of meeting Jintao, including the presidents of the United States, Russia and France.

Peres told Haaretz on Thursday during the flight to Beijing that he planned to discuss the Iranian nuclear program in the meeting. "The Chinese have a more advanced position than Russia. They are not enthusiastic about sanctions but have not prevented them."

Peres said he would tell his host that Iran constitutes a world danger but warned that, "Israel should not make Tehran an Israeli problem but a global problem. It is important to reach an East-West understanding regarding Iran."

Peres also told Haaretz he does not believe Sino-Israeli relations were damaged by Israeli consent to a U.S. request that Israel stop defense cooperation with China. "The Chinese are practical. They do not operate in anger. They realize there is a lot of room for cooperation with Israel and are interested in that."

The Chinese, Peres said, are particularly interested in cooperation in agriculture and medicine and consider Israel very advanced in both fields.

Peres' schedule during his three-day visit includes meetings with other world leaders.