China seeks role in Western talks with Iran

BERLIN: China wants a place at the negotiating table in talks on proposals between the Western powers and Iran on Tehran's nuclear programme, the German weekly Der Spiegel says in its edition dated Monday.

Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao expressed this wish last week during a telephone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, it says.

It quotes diplomats at the German Foreign Ministry as saying Beijing, which has substantial economic interests in Iran, is seeking a place at the negotiating table because it does not want to be a step behind other powers, notably the United States and Russia, in the region.

Der Spiegel also points out that along with Washington, which also has indicated its wish to be involved in talks with Iran, Russia is playing an active role with the European Union-led efforts.

It said Moscow sent a senior diplomat along with the EU's foreign policy chief Javier Solana to Tehran last week when he went to give the Western offer to Iranian leaders.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is due in China next week for a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, and is scheduled to hold talks on the sidelines with his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Saturday that Iran was examining the West's package of incentives to resolve the nuclear crisis and could reply with its own counter-proposals.