Chinese buyers of Iranian crude are divided with the country over payment terms and negotiations are underway between the two sides to settle the issue, said the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) director for international affairs.

Speaking to the Mehr news agency, Mohsen Qamsari rejected some news on western media that China has made a request for cutting crude imports from Iran, adding that some 500,000 barrels of crude is exported daily to the Asian country.   

China will reduce crude imports from Iran for a second month, sources said on Thursday, as the two remain divided over payment terms for Iranian crude targeted by ever tougher international sanction, according to Reuters.

China, which buys around 10 percent of Iran's crude exports, cut its January purchases by about 285,000 barrels per day, just over half of the total average daily amount it imported in 2011.

Iran is the second-biggest oil producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Its estimated oil output is about 3.6 million barrels a day.

China spent $15.85 billion buying oil from Iran in the first nine months of 2011, up 84.5 percent year-on-year. Oil imports from Saudi Arabia increased just 19.7 percent, while those from Angola rose 0.28 percent, Chinese customs data show.