Chinese debut sets scene for Munich security talks

BERLIN (Reuters) - Iran's nuclear program, China's future role in global affairs and Afghanistan are likely to be major themes at this week's Munich Security Conference, the first at which Beijing will formally participate.

China's Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi is due to give the opening speech Friday of the three-day conference, where he will join top European and U.S. diplomats seeking answers to disputes in the Middle East and central Asia.

The leading forum on security policy, which lacks some of the heads of government seen in recent years, coincides with fresh Western efforts to draw up new sanctions against Iran at the United Nations, despite misgivings from China and Russia.

Werner Weidenfeld, a political scientist at the University of Munich, said China's appearance meant the spotlight was bound to fall on the "basic architecture of global politics."

"It won't be limited so much to the classic military themes which tended to dominate the conference before," he said, adding that natural resources and energy would be a focal point.

German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, who also attends, said last month the conference would look at conflicts over resources, dealing with pariah states, climate change and control of both conventional and nuclear arms.

Many of these issues have sparked testy exchanges between Western nations and China in recent years, and analysts believe they could do so at the 46th annual conference in Munich, an event often referred to as the "Davos of security policy."

Hans-Georg Ehrhart, an analyst at the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg, said problems with China had been thrown into sharp relief recently.

"One of them is China's hesitancy on the issue of Iran's nuclear issue," he said. "Then you've got the issue of arms sales to Taiwan. Even the fact that the Chinese yuan (currency) is undervalued could play a part at the conference."

IRAN IMPASSE

With pressure rising on it to give up enrichment, Tehran said Tuesday it was ready to send its enriched uranium abroad in exchange for nuclear fuel, prompting the United States to signal it may listen if Iran follows up on this.

China's state-run media lambasted the United States this week for a planned $6.4 billion arms package for Taiwan, a move which may damage cooperation with Beijing over issues like Iran.

Friday will probably explore China's role in policymaking, coinciding with a growing consensus that the Group of 20 nations should become the main forum for international debates.

Western powers may also seek closer engagement with Russia in the hope that this may isolate China over Iran, Ehrhart said.

"It will be interesting to see whether the Russians adopt a more nuanced position on Iran," he said.

Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are both scheduled to appear in Munich.

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, Yukiya Amano, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and U.S. national security adviser James Jones are among the other senior officials due to attend.

Henning Riecke, an analyst at the German Council on Foreign Relations, said Afghanistan would probably be a key topic.

Officials would probably address what could be done to improve the legitimacy of Hamid Karzai's government and examine how a decentralized Afghanistan would look, Riecke said.

(Editing by Charles Dick)