He said that Chinese President Hu Jintao and the Chinese government advocate building a harmonious society and a harmonious world, and China sticks to peaceful development, harmonious development, scientific development and sustainable development, which conform to the trend of times and to the wish and interests of the people.

In diplomacy, China is committed to promoting peaceful coexistence, equal treatment to each other, cooperation of mutual benefits, and common development among countries, Li said.

China is also committed to pursuing good-neighborliness and mutual trust, solving disputes through dialogues and other diplomatic means, seeking common security and lasting peace, he said.

Meanwhile, China is committed to boosting exchanges and learning from each other, building a resource-saving and environment-friendly society and enhancing cooperation in the fields, the minister said.

Darfur Issue

The Chinese government fully supports the consensus reached by the United Nations, the African Union and the Sudanese government on the Darfur issue, Li.

President Hu Jintao had clarified the Chinese government's stance on the Darfur issue in Sudan, one of the eight African countries he visited earlier this year, Li said.

The Chinese government has always maintained that different countries can have friendly negotiations on an equal footing, and China is willing to hold such dialogues with African countries and all the other countries, he said.

The Chinese government has kept offering humanitarian assistance to Sudan's Darfur area and hopes that the international community tries its best to lend a hand to the area, he said.

China, apart from seeking self-development, has tried to assist other countries to the best of its capability. "Our assistance is free of any political pressure and helps resolve specific problems, a good demonstration of China's peaceful development road and constructive role in the world," Li said.

While differentiating dialogue from interference, he cited the UN charter, which clearly stipulates a principle of non- interference in other countries' internal affairs.

"It's hard to imagine the world can maintain harmony and peaceful development if any country or international organization intends to interfere in other countries' internal affairs," the minister said.

Iran urged to cooperate with IAEA

Chinese FM Li called upon Iran to step up cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), saying China hopes to see the resumption of diplomatic negotiations for regional peace and stability.

"We hope that Iran could cherish its negotiation channels with the European Union, Russia and other countries," Li said.

"Nothing else on earth is more precious than peace," he said, hoping that all the efforts from the international community could help restore diplomatic negotiations, and all the actions by the UN Security Council could boost regional peace and stability.

China would faithfully fulfill its obligation as a member of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and support peaceful resolution of the Iran nuclear issue through diplomatic efforts as always, said the minister.

The United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany have kicked off their series of informal talks on Iran's nuclear program to discuss the elements of a new sanctions draft resolution aimed at pushing Iran back to negotiations, according to a latest news report.

The UN Security Council passed a resolution on December 23, 2006, demanding that Iran suspend uranium enrichment in 60 days. However, Iran has failed to do so and claimed its nuclear program is for civilian purposes only.

(Xinhua News Agency via chinadaily.com.cn March 6, 2007)