China pledges to promote Iranian nuclear talks

China hopes all the parties involved can translate their political will into a mutually beneficial deal to ease Iranian nuclear tensions, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Monday. Hong Lei made the remark at a regular news briefing when asked to comment on the latest round of talks between Iran and the P5+1, including China, France, Russia, Britain and the United States, plus Germany. China hopes they can continue their negotiations based on an equal footing and accommodate each other's concerns, Hong said, adding that China will continue to contribute "positive energy" to facilitate the process. The forth round of nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 ended on Friday in Vienna, making "no tangible progress." The work on a final deal is "difficult" but it is likely that a deal can be clinched, and both sides should seize the opportunity to this end, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif wrote on his Twitter feed on Sunday. The talks have already entered a "deep-water zone," according to Hong. Given the sensitivity and complexity of some issues, the negotiations will not always run smoothly, Hong said, while recognizing the sincerity that all sides have shown to reach a deal at an early date. The Western states suspect Iran has been developing atomic weapons under cover of its civilian nuclear plan, while Iran dismisses the allegation, saying its nuclear program is solely peaceful and the allegation is baseless.