China says diplomacy needed with Iran

BEIJING, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- China, which opposes sanctions against Iran because of its nuclear program, said Tuesday there is still room for diplomacy.

"Dialogue and negotiations are the right ways of properly solving the Iran nuclear issue, and there is still room for diplomatic efforts," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told reporters in Beijing, Xinhua reported.

The report quoted U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as saying her government has been discussing sanctions against Iran with other major powers. The U.S. reaction was in response to Iran's rejection of a year-end deadline relating to the swapping of its low-enriched uranium for nuclear fuel.

"We hope the relevant parties take more flexible and pragmatic measures and step up diplomatic efforts in a bid to resume talks as soon as possible," Jiang was quoted as saying.