BEIJING, May 24, 2011 (AFP) - China said Tuesday it was considering an invitation to inspect Iran's nuclear facilities and urged Tehran to step up cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog.
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, who arrived in Bejing on Sunday, put forward the invitation in talks with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi, ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told reporters.
“We will carefully study Iran's invitation for Chinese experts to visit its nuclear facilities,” she said.
“We also encourage Iran to step up cooperation with the IAEA (the UN International Atomic Energy Agency).”In January, Beijing turned down an earlier invitation by Tehran that was extended in an apparent effort to avoid further UN sanctions.
Western powers fear Iran is seeking to build a nuclear bomb. The oil-rich country denies that, insisting its nuclear programme is for peaceful energy purposes.
The European Union and the United States have slapped unilateral sanctions on Iran on top of four sets of punitive measures imposed by the UN Security Council.
Jiang also urged Tehran to return to negotiations on halting its uranium enrichment programme that include the United States, Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia.
“We are of the view that dialogue and negotiations are the correct channel to seek a comprehensive and proper settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue,” Jiang said.
“We hope Iran and the six countries will have a new round of dialogue as soon as possible.”The UN sanctions and unilateral punitive measures have allowed Chinese companies to expand their presence in the Islamic republic.
China, one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, has emerged as Iran's largest trading partner with direct bilateral trade currently valued at $30 billion, up from $400 million 15 years ago.
Chinese purchases of Iranian oil account for much of the trade.
China mulls Iranian nuclear inspection invite
