China told visiting US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Friday that it would play a constructive role on the Iranian nuclear issue, but did not reveal the extent to which it would support sanctions on Tehran.
"China is ready to continue with its constructive role in the process of peacefully resolving the Iran nuclear issue through negotiations," Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing told journalists after his talks with Rice.
Rice said the two sides discussed ongoing efforts in the UN Security Council to draft a resolution on Iran that is likely to invoke sanctions over Tehran's refusal to halt its uranium enrichment.
"We also talked about Iran, where we are in (a) six-party framework to try to deal with the Iranian nuclear program," Rice said.
"There is work under way as we speak at the UN Security Council concerning
the Iranian nuclear file."
Envoys from France, Britain and Germany in consultation with the United States put finishing touches on Thursday to a draft resolution on UN sanctions against Iran. The three European countries have spearheaded failed talks to persuade Iran to scale back its nuclear ambitions.
Officials in Washington said a first set of punitive measures was likely to focus on banning the supply of material and funding for Iran's ballistic missile and nuclear programs. Other steps could include asset freezes and travel bans on nuclear and weapons scientists.
Last week senior diplomats from Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the US finalised a preliminary list of possible sanctions and directed their UN envoys to begin drawing up a sanctions draft.
While the six powers agreed on the need for sanctions against Tehran, Russia and China are likely to oppose biting sanctions. Both have important economic ties to Iran and have traditionally been reluctant to use sanctions as a diplomatic tool.