U.S., Iran should be encouraged to return to negotiating table for political settlement: Chinese FM

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday that both the United States and Iran have the willingness to resume negotiations, and the international community should encourage both sides to return to the negotiating table and seek effective ways for a political settlement.

China and Canada can jointly play a constructive role in this regard, said Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, in a phone conversation with Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand at the latter's request.

Anand briefed Wang on Canada's position regarding the situation in the Middle East, noting that Canada is committed to protecting civilians in the conflict, promoting de-escalation of the situation, preventing the spillover of the conflict, and reducing its impact on the global economy as well as industrial and supply chains.

The Iranian nuclear issue bears on the international nuclear non-proliferation regime, and ensuring the safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz is in the common interests of all parties, Anand said.

Canada stands ready to work with China to push for a ceasefire and promote regional peace and stability, she added.

Wang elaborated on China's principled position, saying that the Iranian nuclear issue should be resolved through dialogue and should not be a reason for the use of force.

The abuse of force will only lead to grave repercussions, and the spillover of the war will threaten regional security and stability, he said.

The two sides also exchanged views on China-Canada relations and agreed that they should implement the outcomes of Prime Minister Mark Carney's visit to China with a positive and pragmatic attitude, resume dialogues at various levels, expand mutually beneficial cooperation, and push for the stable and healthy development of the China-Canada new strategic partnership.

U.S., Iran should be encouraged to return to negotiating table for political settlement: Chinese FM

U.S., Iran should be encouraged to return to negotiating table for political settlement: Chinese FM

U.S., Iran should be encouraged to return to negotiating table for political settlement: Chinese FM

U.S., Iran should be encouraged to return to negotiating table for political settlement: Chinese FM

U.S., Iran should be encouraged to return to negotiating table for political settlement: Chinese FM

U.S., Iran should be encouraged to return to negotiating table for political settlement: Chinese FM

China's Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the country's northwest on Sunday, sending three astronauts to its orbiting space station.

The spaceship, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, lifted off from the launch site at 23:08 Beijing Time (15:08 GMT).

The crew members consist of mission commander Zhu Yangzhu, and fellow astronauts Zhang Zhiyuan and Lai Ka-ying, who is also the first astronaut from China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

In another notable first, one of the crew members is set to undertake a year-long stay aboard the space station, double the usual duration of previous Shenzhou missions.

After entering orbit, the Shenzhou-23 spaceship will perform a fast automated rendezvous and docking with the radial port of the space station core module Tianhe, forming a combination of three modules and three spacecraft.

Shenzhou-23 marks the 40th flight of China's manned spaceflight program and the seventh manned flight mission since the Tiangong space station entered its application and development phase in late 2022.

China launches Shenzhou-23 manned spaceship