As a veto-holding permanent member of the UN Security Council, China's position will be crucial to international efforts to deal with Iran's secret nuclear facility.
"Iran is an important country for China: we have diplomatic interests, but also energy and trade links," he said. "[And] if China is too harsh, it will not be favourable to its image and influence in the Middle East."
China is the world's second-largest consumer of crude oil while Iran has the world's second largest reserves; Iranian oil made up more than a tenth of China's crude imports last year. Earlier this year, the two countries announced a $3.2bn three-year natural gas deal, and in the spring Iran's Press TV reported that trade volume between the countries leapt from $400m in 1994 to $29bn in 2008.
Can China help to defuse the nuclear threat from Iran? | World news | The Observer
