Beijing to attend talks on Iran

BEIJING - China will attend a meeting with the other four permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany in New York this week hoping the talks would lead to a resolution of the Iran nuclear standoff without the need for fresh sanctions, a Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman said on Thursday.

"The six nations will discuss ways to resolve the Iran nuclear issue through diplomatic means, and also a few other suggestions put forward by the participants. China will attend the meeting," Jiang Yu said at a regular news briefing in Beijing.

"China always maintains that dialogue and negotiations are the best ways to resolve the Iran nuclear issue, and we hope the participants can make utmost efforts to resolve the issue," Jiang said, in response to a reporter's question on China's stance about likely fresh sanctions on Iran.