China yesterday took a more prominent role in efforts to contain Iran’s nuclear drive and Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) announced that he would go to a major anti-proliferation summit in Washington this month.
While a top US official said China had agreed to “serious negotiations” on new UN sanctions, however, the Chinese government said it was working for a “peaceful resolution” of the nuclear standoff.
Iran sent its top nuclear negotiator to Beijing and described the talk of new international action as an empty threat.
The presence of Tehran’s chief nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, in Beijing highlighted China’s role in the tense UN Security Council debate on Iran’s uranium enrichment.
The US and its allies suspect the program is part of a drive to develop a nuclear bomb.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel held telephone talks with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶) on Iran, her office said.
While Western nations are stepping up pressure for sanctions, however, China is sticking to its insistence on more talks.
“On the Iranian nuclear issue, China will continue to endeavor toward a peaceful resolution,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang (秦剛) told reporters.
“We have always and will continue to push for a peaceful settlement of this issue,” Qin said, adding that the crisis should be resolved by “diplomatic means.”
Qin said Jalili would meet Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi (楊潔箎) and other Chinese officials. Qin also announced that Hu would attend US President Barack Obama’s nuclear security summit in Washington from April 12 to April 13. The visit would be a chance for the two powers to ease tensions that have mounted in recent months and discuss Iran. Obama said on Tuesday he wanted a fourth round of UN sanctions agreed upon within weeks.
China, one of five veto-wielding permanent members of the UN Security Council, has repeatedly called for a negotiated settlement, rather than new punitive action.
But the US ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, signaled a shift in China’s attitude on Iran.
“China has agreed to sit down and begin serious negotiations here in New York,” Rice told CNN on Wednesday.
“This is progress, but the negotiations have yet to begin in earnest,” Rice said.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton predicted on Tuesday that the Security Council would reach a consensus on new sanctions.
“We see a growing awareness on the part of many countries including China as to the consequences of a nuclear-armed Iran to regional and global stability, to our oil supply,” she said. “We think that there will be a consensus reached as to the best way forward.”
China has a close diplomatic and trade relationship with Iran, dominated by its imports of Iranian energy resources, and its position remains key to the future of the long-running standoff.
Also See: Hu to attend nuclear summit in US
Also See: Reports framed to avoid war: ElBaradei
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency as well as long-term residency in Taiwan has decreased, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday, adding that the reduction of Chinese spouses staying or living in Taiwan is only one facet reflecting the general decrease in the number of people willing to get married in Taiwan. The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency last year was 7,123, down by 2,931, or 29.15 percent, from the previous year. The same census showed that the number of Chinese spouses applying for long-term residency and receiving approval last year stood at 2,973, down 1,520,
RSS