China hopes for consensus in Almaty nuclear talks

BEIJING - A Foreign Ministry spokesman on Wednesday urged all concerned parties to take practical action to build mutual trust during the upcoming Iranian nuclear talks in Kazakhstan.

Assistant Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu will head a Chinese delegation to attend the talks in Almaty of Kazakhstan slated for April 5 and 6, spokesman Hong Lei said.

Hong said talks between Iran and the P5+1 group ((Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany) held in Almaty in late February represented the first step in starting substantive negotiations.

The parties held expert-level nuclear talks in Turkey's Istanbul in late March to discuss a revised proposal that asks Iran to suspend its enrichment of uranium and disable the underground Fordow facility in exchange for limited sanction relief.

"China hopes all concerned parties will, on the basis of the two previous talks, actively seek a consensus and fully accommodate each other's concerns," Hong said.

The Chinese side holds a firm belief that dialogue and negotiation are the only way to properly address the Iran nuclear issue, Hong said, adding that China will continue to act as a mediator and play a constructive role in promoting negotiations.

"We will continue to make joint efforts with concerned parties to make contributions that can facilitate progress in the new round of talks," he said.