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Summary China calls for dialogue and negotiations to resolve Irans nuclear standoff and Syrian crisis.
China rebuked Iran on Monday for stopping oil sales to British and French companies, calling for renewed efforts at dialogue over an escalating stand-off over Tehrans controversial nuclear programme.China has repeatedly called for talks over Tehrans efforts to enrich its own uranium, which Western countries suspect is aimed at obtaining nuclear weapons. Iran has said the enrichment is for power generation.We have consistently upheld dialogue and negotiation as the way to resolve disputes between countries, and do not approve of exerting pressure or using confrontation to resolve issues. China hopes all sides can get back onto the correct path of dialogue as soon as possible, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a daily news briefing.The European Union enraged Tehran last month when it decided to impose a boycott on its oil from July 1. Iran, the worlds fifth-largest oil exporter, responded by threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz, the main Gulf oil shipping lane.On Sunday, its oil ministry went a step further, announcing Iran has now stopped selling oil to French and British companies, a move which will however have little or no impact on supplies reaching France or Britain.China has also repeatedly voiced its concerns over new sanctions on Iran, and is one of the largest users of Iranian oil, buying around 20 percent of total exports.Hong also urged a peaceful solution to the ongoing crisis in Syria.We support the propositions of the Arabic countries to stop violence, protect the Syrian civilians, provide humanitarian aid to Syria, and prevent foreign interference, and hope the Syria issue can be resolved through political and peaceful talks under the framework of the Arab League, he said.China and Russia angered Western and Arab states this month by blocking a draft U.N. Security Council resolution that backed an Arab plan urging Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to quit amid his governments violent crackdown on opposition protests.
