China calls for creativity in Iranian nuclear talks

China's Foreign Ministry says Iranian nuclear talks have reached a final crucial stage and China hopes all parties can creatively seek a solution to difficult issues.

All parties demonstrated the political will to reach a comprehensive agreement at an earlier date during the seventh round of nuclear talks, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a daily news briefing.

This round of negotiation between Iran and the six world powers - the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France, Germany started on Sept. 19 and concluded last Friday. Among the attendees were EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif, plus delegates from the six major powers.

According to Hua, although there was no substantial progress during the talks, all parties carried out negotiations over the core issues in a serious and pragmatic manner.

Hua said the talks for achieving a comprehensive agreement have reached the final crucial stage and China hoped all parties can work for a fair, balanced and mutually beneficial agreement.

An interim deal, which took effect on Jan. 20, was designed to buy time for negotiations. Under the deal, Iran suspended sensitive nuclear activities in exchange for limited sanction relief.

In July, Iran and the six major countries agreed to extend negotiations over its disputed nuclear program for another four months till Nov. 24 as they could not narrow down the significant gaps on core issues during the past six months.

The six world powers are working with Iran to find a comprehensive deal to put an end to Tehran's longstanding controversial nuclear program.