Iran-P5+1 deal helps boost China-US ties: Chinese FM

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi says a mutual understanding reached between Iran and the P5+1 countries in Switzerland will also help boost relations between China and the United States, China's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Speaking during a phone call with US Secretary of State John Kerry, the top Chinese diplomat added that the Lausanne agreement can be attributed to all sides seizing a historic opportunity through concerted efforts.

"China and the United States, both taking on major responsibilities in safeguarding the international nuclear non-proliferation system, maintained good contact with each other during the negotiations, while instilling positive energy into bilateral relations," Wang said.

He added that China would maintain close coordination with all parties concerned, including the United States, in an effort to finalize a comprehensive deal between Iran and the P5+1 countries as scheduled, vowing to play a constructive role during the process.

The statement quoted Kerry as saying that Washington appreciates Beijing's important and constructive role in the latest nuclear negotiations between Iran and the six countries in Lausanne.

China and the United States are at loggerheads over various issues, including cyber security and China's economic policy, but they also cooperate closely on certain international issues such as the Iranian nuclear case.

Iran and the P5+1 states – the US, France, Britain, Russia and China plus Germany – issued a joint statement at the end of eight days of crunch nuclear negotiations in the Swiss city of Lausanne on Thursday.

According to the statement, no Iranian nuclear facility will be shut down or suspended while all sanctions against the Islamic Republic will be lifted.

The joint statement is a sign that Iran and its negotiating partners have come to a mutual understanding over Tehran’s nuclear program and will work to draw up a final accord by the end of the self-designated June 30 deadline.

According to the joint statement, Iran's Fordow nuclear facility will be turned into a research center for nuclear science and physics. It also said the heavy water reactor in the Iranian city of Arak will remain in place, but will be redesigned and updated. Iran will implement the Additional Protocol temporarily and voluntarily in line with its confidence-building measures and after that the protocol will be ratified within a time frame by the Iranian government and Parliament (Majlis).

China and Iran have always maintained close diplomatic, economic, trade and energy relations. Beijing has repeatedly expressed its support for Tehran’s peaceful nuclear program.

SF/NN

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