Vice-Foreign Minister Lu Guozeng is expected to fly to Teheran today for "political consultations" with Iranian diplomats regarding the standoff over their country's nuclear programme.

"During his three-day working visit to Iran, Lu will discuss with Iran's foreign ministry officials ways to prevent the nuclear crisis from escalating, given the current developments," ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said yesterday at a regular news briefing.

Both sides will also discuss the ties between them and other regional and international issues of common concern, Liu said.

The Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will decide on March 6 whether Iran should be referred to the United Nations Security Council over its nuclear programme, which, as Western countries suspect, is an intention to build nuclear weapons.

China insists that the Iranian nuclear issue be resolved through diplomatic channels.

Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing said on Wednesday that there was still room for diplomatic means to resolve the issue within the framework of the IAEA without referring the matter to the Security Council.

"The days before the March 6 meeting of the IAEA are crucial," Li was quoted by Xinhua News Agency as saying after meeting with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Beijing.

Li appealed to the international community to remain calm, restrained and patient, and show flexibility in creating the conditions needed to resume the nuclear negotiations between Europe and Iran.

Iran and Russia are discussing an offer to enrich uranium in Russia for Iranian power plants, which is seen by some as the "last chance" to defuse the row before Western governments seek sanctions.

At the press conference, Liu also told reporters that China and Japan have agreed to start talks early next month on developing oil and gas resources in disputed areas of the East China Sea one of the several sources of tension between the two nations. He did not give an exact date.

Talks between Japanese Trade Minister Toshihiro Nikai and his Chinese counterpart, Bo Xilai, on Wednesday in Beijing achieved a "consensus" on problems of environment, energy, trade co-operation and two-way investment.

Source: China Daily