Trade with Iran unhelpful, U.S. tells China
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's trade with Iran at a time world powers are trying to convince it to give up its nuclear ambitions is sending the wrong signal to Tehran, the U.S. envoy to the United Nations nuclear watchdog said on Monday.
Gregory Schulte, U.S. ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said members of the U.N. Security Council, which include China, need to convey a "clear political message" to Iran that it must comply with the Security Council and cooperate with the IAEA.
"This is not a time for business as usual with Iran, this is a time to demonstrate to Iran that they are hurting their country politically and economically by withholding information from the international community," Schulte told reporters in Beijing.
On Saturday, Iran again ruled out suspending nuclear enrichment despite an offer by six world powers, including China, of help in developing a civilian nuclear program if it stopped activities Washington suspects are aimed at making bombs.
The rejection of the incentives offer raises the prospect of further sanctions if Tehran presses ahead with its nuclear work.
China, a veto-wielding member of the Security Council, has typically opposed stronger sanctions, instead urging more negotiations and calling on Iran to be more compromising.
It also has strong commercial ties with Iran, which was Beijing's third-largest source of imported crude oil last year, after Saudi Arabia and Angola.
Schulte, who was in Beijing for talks with Chinese Foreign Ministry officials about Iran and the agenda for the IAEA, said China was in agreement with Washington on the need for a two-track approach of talk and sanctions in dealing with Iran.
But he said Beijing's commercial relationship with Iran was not helpful to the goal of convincing Tehran to abandon what Washington says is its pursuit of uranium enrichment with a view to making weapons.
"Words also need to be backed up by deeds. It's very important to demonstrate to the leaders in Iran that they don't benefit from this type of activity," said Schulte.
"This is a time when the leaders in Tehran need to understand that there are consequences for their actions," he said.
Schulte would not comment on how Chinese officials received his message.
Sinopec, China's biggest oil refiner and petrochemicals producer, signed a deal last year to invest $2 billion in Iran's Yadavaran oil field, an agreement that drew a swift rebuke from Washington.
Beijing said at the time the deal was a commercial one, and had nothing to do with politics.
But in February, Iranian media reported that Chinese banks had cut their business with Iranian banks due to U.S. pressure.
Schulte said Iran must understand that, if it failed to cooperate with the nuclear watchdog, it would be driven deeper into isolation.
"I think it's important that they get this message consistently, both from what countries say and what countries do," he said.
