Chinese, Iranian FMs talk over phone

BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a phone conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian on Monday.

Amir Abdollahian expressed congratulations on the splendid opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics and said the Games will be a success. Extending Lunar New Year's greetings to the Chinese people, he stressed that Iran is willing to keep closer exchanges with China in all aspects to further deepen the comprehensive strategic partnership between Iran and China.

Noting that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi recently sent a letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping to congratulate China on hosting the Beijing Winter Olympics, and the Iranian foreign minister himself has supported China in Chinese on social media, Wang expressed appreciation and gratitude, and wished Iranian athletes good performance in the Games.

China will continue to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation of the two countries in various areas, strengthen communication and coordination with Iran in international and regional affairs, and enrich their comprehensive strategic partnership, Wang said.

Amir Abdollahian briefed Wang on the latest progress in the negotiations on resuming the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

He said that Iran is firmly committed to reaching an agreement through negotiation while effectively safeguarding Iran's national interests. Any agreement must be reached through consultation and negotiation and cannot be unilaterally imposed on others. The final text should be the result of joint consultation, he added.

For his part, Wang said China appreciates Iran's principled position of resolving the issue through negotiation and supports Iran in raising reasonable demands during the negotiations.

On the whole, the negotiations are taking positive steps toward the final settlement of the issue. China believes that Iran's legitimate rights and interests will receive full attention from all parties, said Wang.

China is ready to work with relevant parties to continue to make constructive efforts for early resuming the implementation of the JCPOA, he added.

The two sides also exchanged views on the Afghan issue.