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Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni speaking at a press conference in Beijing on Tuesday. (AP)
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Last update - 16:08 30/10/2007
China rejects Israel's call for tougher sanctions against Iran
By Reuters
Tags: Israel, China, Iran, nuclear

China and Israel emerged from talks on Iran's nuclear future on Tuesday with each side sticking to divergent positions on whether additional United Nations sanctions would help defuse the standoff.

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni was in Beijing seeking to persuade China to back tougher economic restrictions on Tehran unless it curtails nuclear activities that Western powers say are aimed at making nuclear weapons.

"We believe that there's a need to enhance the sanctions in order to stop Iran," Livni told a news conference after meetings with senior Chinese officials. "We believe that there is a need for more sanctions in the United Nations Security Council."
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Livni added that Iran was abusing other powers' willingness to negotiate and would only rein in its nuclear activities under stiffer sanctions.

Responding to Livni's message, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman underscored his country's stance that a negotiated settlement was still viable.

"We believe that a peaceful resolution of the Iran issue through negotiation is the best choice," spokesman Liu Jianchao told a news conference. "China has always maintained that in international relations sanctions should not be rashly applied."

The exchange of views suggested that Beijing - along with Russia - remains wary of a proposed fresh round of UN sanctions that Israel, Washington and other Western powers want considered. China's permanent seat on the UN Security Council gives it the power to veto such moves.

Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency agreed in August on a timetable to answer outstanding questions about the country's atomic activities, prompting world powers to postpone a third round of UN sanctions until at least November.

But U.S. officials have said there was no sign that Iran was going to suspend uranium enrichment, and Washington slapped new unilateral sanctions on Tehran last week. Increasingly angry rhetoric between the two sides has also fed speculation of a U.S. military strike.

Iran has shrugged off two earlier rounds of sanctions, which China backed, and Livni has said tougher measures were needed to raise domestic pressure on the Iranian government to make nuclear concessions.

Iran is China's third biggest supplier of imported crude oil, behind Angola and Saudi Arabia.

"We should avoid making the problem more complicated," spokesman Liu said.

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      1.   At last common sense 14:58  |  Chris Linthwaite 30/10/07
      2.   WAR!!! GONNE BE RESULT OF ZIONIST FRUSTATED 15:22  |  Ron Schmidt 30/10/07
      3.   French DM sure that Iran is going for the bomb 15:23  |  Jonathan S 30/10/07
      4.   +1 China 15:28  |  POP 30/10/07
      5.   Israel needs to join the IAEA or STFU 15:30  |  POP 30/10/07
      6.   Cynical China 15:37  |  Yonatan 30/10/07
      7.   Israel is facing a chilling reality 15:57  |  spyguy 30/10/07
      8.   China against Israel; China & Iran 16:00  |  Imad 30/10/07
      9.   She was just there for the Chineese food 16:10  |  J Dog 30/10/07
      10.   Maybe you have some influence on Capitol Hill 16:12  |  Mahmoud 30/10/07
      11.   Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Yemen, Saudis 16:15  |  Anti Apartheid 30/10/07
      12.   just like china`s peaceful talks with tibet and hong kong... 16:30  |  don 30/10/07
      13.   Chinese hypocrisy 16:34  |  Yariv 30/10/07
      14.   Did anyone honestly expect differently from China? 16:37  |  Murray of Montreal 30/10/07
      15.   The Dragon vs The WORD 16:38  |  Brod 30/10/07
      16.   Communist Dictatorship supporst Islamo-Facists 16:41  |  Mike 30/10/07
      17.   What? No Israeli lobbyists in China? 16:41  |  Natallie Durson 30/10/07
      18.   #1 Anti Apartheid 16:42  |  Yonatan 30/10/07
      19.   We believe that a peaceful resolution of the Iran issue through 16:57  |  Ben 30/10/07
      20.   #6 Say Mike 17:00  |  ballistic 30/10/07
      21.   N Durson 17:07  |  Mahmed 30/10/07
      22.   Yonatan 17:10  |  Anti Apartheid 30/10/07
      23.   Chinese need Iranian Energy; their own interets 17:11  |  Semsem 30/10/07
      24.   to Natallie Durson#7 17:14  |  Ilya 30/10/07
      25.   unsurprising and irrelevant 17:36  |  frenz 30/10/07
      26.   #6 Mike, the armchair warrior 17:42  |  mark 30/10/07
      27.   Brod 18:00  |  Zobaida Tahsal-Darr 30/10/07
      28.   haaretz 1, jerusalem post 0 18:07  |  Axel 30/10/07
      29.   The Wolf is Sheep`s Clothing 18:10  |  Cool B 30/10/07
      30.   #2 - Imad 18:15  |  MichaelF 30/10/07
      31.   To late to get China involved 18:19  |  MichaelF 30/10/07
      32.   Brod- WOW you sound like Osama 18:19  |  Concerned Citizen 30/10/07
      33.   Natalie Durson - Very True 18:21  |  I am 30/10/07
      34.   For Brod, on ancient madmen # 11 18:47  |  Clickfool 30/10/07
      35.   THE PRICE OF OIL 19:22  |  Mark of Lewiston 30/10/07
      36.   To Brod re: The Bible 19:23  |  David James Vickery 30/10/07
      37.   #16 Mike - Your promise of Pax Americana is a lie 19:55  |  Pablo B 30/10/07
      38.   Israel should respond 20:03  |  Gene 30/10/07
      39.   Judeo-fascism + 300 nuclear bombs= potential holocaust 20:29  |  Chinese 30/10/07
      40.   #11. AntiApartheid, U R right, before it is too late. 20:29  |  The observer 30/10/07
      41.   # 18 Do those you named call themself Democraties? 20:35  |  Kris 30/10/07
      42.   Chinese #36 20:44  |  Brod 30/10/07
      43.   The Observer #37 20:50  |  Brod 30/10/07
      44.   Communist intentions 20:54  |  DR 30/10/07
      45.   #22 Anti Apartheid 20:57  |  Yonatan 30/10/07
      46.   China 21:10  |  Michael 30/10/07
      47.   #36, thanks for the laugh 21:11  |  DR 30/10/07
      48.   China 21:14  |  Michael 30/10/07
      49.   To Yonatan 21:21  |  khalil 30/10/07
      50.   Isreal 21:23  |  emanuel chidozie Ike 30/10/07
      51.   spyguy, you are living out there in la-la-land 21:24  |  Jake 30/10/07
      52.   To Frenz 21:27  |  khalil 30/10/07
      53.   Russian FM in Tehran 21:42  |  Chris Linthwaite 30/10/07
      54.   spyguy.........israel will never be destroyed 21:59  |  maria 30/10/07
      55.   # 17 Important thing, Fatmah, is that Israel tried... 22:03  |  Misha 30/10/07
      56.   Let`s provide Taiwan with Nuke tec. 22:05  |  Rafa 30/10/07
      57.   china against israel? 22:06  |  maria 30/10/07
      58.   Maria - by your assertion Israel should have never 22:17  |  Mario Uh la la 30/10/07
      59.   #11 23:04  |  Moshe 30/10/07
      60.   Maria - Israelis against a Palestine? 23:15  |  Israeli 30/10/07
      61.   The USA are determined to undercut China! 23:48  |  Maureen Ann 30/10/07
      62.   #50 23:59  |  Labhras 30/10/07
      63.   China rejects Israel`s call for tougher sanctions against Iran... 00:02  |  bat yam 31/10/07
      64.   The consequence of idiocy 00:12  |  Mark Lincoln 31/10/07
      65.   Neither China nor Russia will be moved by israel`s siren call! 00:29  |  lakshmi 31/10/07
      66.   china rejects 00:57  |  tom 31/10/07
      67.   concerned citizen......re. brod 01:11  |  maria 31/10/07
      68.   It`s the oil, stupid 01:36  |  Harold 31/10/07
      69.   48 Michael in Toronto 01:47  |  Mark of Lewiston 31/10/07
      70.   The way I see it 03:10  |  JOJO 31/10/07
      71.   It will all come down to H2O 03:30  |  Avrum 31/10/07
      72.   #62 and you Labhras eat Smarties to be smarter. 04:37  |  infidel 31/10/07
      73.   to # 3 Jonathan 04:54  |  JJ 31/10/07
      74.   Domestic knw-How 04:57  |  JJ 31/10/07
      75.   To Dear Maria. 06:31  |  khalil 31/10/07
      76.   To Dear Maria.2 06:36  |  khalil 31/10/07
      77.   To Jake. 06:45  |  khalil 31/10/07
      78.   We could have saved her trip a trip to China 07:38  |  Concerned Goy 31/10/07
      79.   39 Chinese 08:54  |  ron 31/10/07
      80.   SURPRISE:LIVNI IS BAD FOR ISRAEL,FOOL AHMADINEJAD-GOOD FOR ISRAEL 14:02  |  VOICE of MOSHIACH))) 31/10/07
      81.   Some silly views.. 19:08  |&nb