China strongly supports JCPOA, says ‘a deal better than no deal at all’

TEHRAN– China’s special envoy for Middle East issues, Gong Xiaosheng, while announcing his country’s support for the nuclear deal, said having a deal on Iran’s nuclear program is better than no deal at all.

Speaking to the reporters during a press conference in Tehran on Tuesday, Gong Xiaosheng said his visit to the Islamic Republic addresses two important issues, i.e. JCPOA and Syrian crisis, about which he has held some meetings with Iranian officials, according to the Mehr News Agency.

Expressing that he is visiting Iran for the second time, Chinese envoy praised Iran’s development since his first visit to the country two years earlier; “I am proud of being in Iran,” he noted.

Pointing to JCPOA, Gong Xiaosheng underlined the need for all parties involved in the Iran nuclear pact to stick to the deal and use dialogue and negotiation to resolve the disputes. He said China was willing to strengthen cooperation with all parties involved in the Iran nuclear pact.

“JCPOA is a multilateral pact and needs to be protected by all the parties involved; this is not only for establishing peace and security in the region, but also for preventing any encroachment on the Non-Proliferation Treaty,” he stressed.

Regarding China’s position on the nuclear deal, he said China’s stance is clear on JCPOA; we will continue it, and I hope that Trump will consider the international community’s reaction while making any decision.

“China will abide by its commitment to the Iran nuclear deal since the IAEA had verified Iran’s compliance with the accord several times,” he added.

China-Iran relations are not merely based on what JCPOA dictates; there are many bilateral agreements signed between the two countries, and China respects its commitments; China is very concerned about its traditional friendship with Iran and will respect that in the future, too.

Syrian crisis was the second issue chinese envoy addressed during his talk with Iranian officials; Gong Xiaosheng said tensions in Syria are likely to escalate and China is further focussing on the issue and hopes the war-stricken country may reach permanent ceasefire in the near future.

China’s position on Syria is clear, he noted, “we believe that the crisis in Syria needs only a political, but not military, solution.”

China has kept contacts with various parties, i.e. Syrian government and opposition, to advance peace process and will play a constructive role in the reconstruction of the country in the future, he added.

M.Wassouf