Chinese President Hu Jintao held talks in Beijing today with Secretary Ali Larijani of Iran's Supreme National Security Council. (Picture: shaking hands with State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan) It was a gesture of goodwill, less than a week before receiving Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. In December China supported a U.N. Security Council resolution imposing sanctions on Iran for not stopping its uranium enrichment program.
The message from Hu to Larijani: give a serious response to the U.N. and return to negotiations to solve the problem. Larijani told the press that tactical differences between China and Iran over sanctions would not endanger both countries' strategic relationship.
The fact remains that on the dispute over Iran's nuclear program, by voting for the sanctions resolution, China has chosen the side of the U.S. against Iran. In the times of Mao and Deng it would certainly have sided with a Third World country. China is a bit too eager to become a 'responsible stakeholder'. What looks responsible from Washington, doesn't look responsible from Teheran.
There is no proof that Iran is building the bomb and the country has the right to develop its peaceful program for nuclear energy use. It deserves the support of China.
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