Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao made the remarks at Thursday's press conference in Beijing, noting the Chinese Government supports the efforts of the IAEA to enhance the additional protocol to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Iran is reported to be developing nuclear weapons and the United Nations' nuclear watchdog and other countries are pressing Iran to sign an additional protocol of the NPT.

In response to US President George W. Bush's recent comments on the issue, Liu said China is opposed to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and nuclear weapons.

Bush said on Wednesday at the White House that the international community would not "tolerate'' the construction of any nuclear weapon in Iran.

The spokesman said China always supports the additional protocol of the IAEA's safeguards system.

China is the first nuclear weapons state to ratify an additional protocol.

"We call on other countries, particularly countries with significant nuclear activities, to sign, ratify and implement additional protocols at an early date,'' Liu said.

However, Liu stressed, China also holds that the preventive measures for the proliferation of nuclear weapons should not hamper the peaceful utilization of nuclear technology.

Turning to the nuclear standoff of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Liu said China and the international community stood for dialogue to solve the nuclear issue and maintained the "Beijing talks'' should be continued.

The United States and DPRK held talks in April under Chinese auspices in Beijing -- an effort to move forward on the nuclear standoff that erupted last October.

"We hoped the relevant parties can adopt a pragmatic and flexible attitude on the forms of dialogue,'' said Liu.

Liu Thursday also responded to Taiwan's "Foreign Minister'' Eugene Chien's scheduled attendance at a conference in Colorado, US. Chien may meet US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld during his stay there.

The US will have violated the principles of the three Sino-US joint communiquis and its repeated vows on the one-China policy by engaging in official contacts with Taiwan, said Liu, adding such contacts will be an interference in China's internal affairs.

He urged the United States to honor its commitments and stop any official contacts with Taiwan.

The spokesman also announced Canadian Foreign Minister's coming visit to China.

At the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, Canadian Foreign Minister William Graham will visit China from June 22 to 24, Liu said.

(Sources from Xinhua News Agency and China Daily, June 20, 2003)