China hails 'close cooperation' with Iran

Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao has said that his country will maintain cooperation with Iran and foster 'close coordination in international affairs'.

China is willing "to maintain high-level contacts with Iran, encourage mutual understanding and confidence, promote practical cooperation between the two sides and close coordination in international affairs," Wen said in a meeting with the visiting Iranian First Vice President, Mohammad Reza Rahimi, in Beijing on Thursday.

He said Beijing was 'willing to continue playing a constructive role in promoting a peaceful resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue'.

"The Sino-Iran relationship has witnessed rapid development ...and cooperation in trade and energy has widened and deepened," Wen asserted.

The Chinese official's comments come after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said earlier in Moscow that Iran could face new sanctions if diplomacy fails to persuade Tehran to halt its uranium enrichment program.

Despite Iran's ongoing diplomatic negotiations with the West, Washington is seeking assurance from veto-wielding UN Security Council members - such as Russia and China - that should negotiations fail, fresh sanctions will await Iran.

Both Beijing and Moscow, however, have stressed that the international community must exhaust diplomacy before considering any other options.

The Islamic Republic has repeatedly rejected Western allegations that it has a secret nuclear weapons program.

Iran, whose nuclear program has been under close inspection of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has called for the removal of all weapons of mass destructions from across the globe.