China prefers negotiations on Iran nuclear issue

China said Thursday it still preferred diplomacy to sanctions in resolving the dispute over Iran's nuclear program, a day after Britain's U.N. ambassador said China had agreed for the first time to discuss new measures against Tehran.

China, which relies on Iran for much of its energy, traditionally opposes sanctions, although it went along with three earlier U.N. sanctions resolutions.

Dialogue remained "the best option, which agrees with the interests of all parties, and is also conducive to regional peace and stability," Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters at a regularly scheduled news conference.

"The diplomatic approach is the most efficient," he said, without mentioning sanctions directly.

British U.N. Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant said Wednesday that senior diplomats from six nations _ the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany _ held a conference call Wednesday on a proposal for a fourth round of sanctions, which the U.S. circulated in January.

China has not responded to the proposal. But Lyall Grant said that during Wednesday's call, "my understanding is that they have agreed to engage substantively."

He said the six political directors "have agreed that they will have a further discussion of possible measures early next week."

China's agreement to even discuss new sanctions is important because Beijing has insisted in recent months that it would not be appropriate to talk about such measures as long as a diplomatic solution was possible.

Western powers are seeking a fourth round of sanctions to pressure Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment program. The International Atomic Energy Agency reported recently that Tehran may be making nuclear bombs.

The proposed new sanctions would target Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard and toughen existing measures against its shipping, banking and insurance sectors.

Russia has joined China in saying there is still room for negotiations with Iran, which insists its nuclear program is aimed solely at producing nuclear energy and is purely peaceful.

Russia's Interfax agency quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying after the conference call that the six countries "stated that the search for a solution through diplomatic efforts does not and cannot have any alternative."