Geng Shuang, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, said on Wednesday that China supports all efforts to preserve the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

“On Iran’s nuclear deal, China supports ease of tension through dialogue. China has made efforts to save the JCPOA,” IRNA quoted him as saying in a press conference.

U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew Washington in May 2018 from the JCPOA, which was reached between Iran and six world powers in 2015.

Afterwards, Washington re-imposed sanctions on Iran that had been lifted under the deal and ordered new ones.

On May 8, exactly one year after the U.S. withdrew from the multi-nation nuclear agreement, Iran announced a partial withdrawal from some aspects of the pact, saying that the country would no longer adhere to some of the limits on its nuclear activities. It also threatened to step up uranium enrichment if an agreement is not made within 60 days to protect it from the sanctions’ effects. 

In follow-up to that deadline, on July 7 Iran announced that it has started enriching uranium to a higher purity than the 3.67% as the Europeans missed the 60-day deadline to devise a concrete mechanism to protect the country from the U.S. sanctions.

President Hassan Rouhani said on August 14 that Tehran will start the next step of reducing nuclear obligations after the second 60-day deadline.

The third step can include installation of more centrifuges, especially advanced ones.

In an interview with the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper published on Tuesday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the country will begin suspending more of its commitments under the nuclear deal between on September 6.

In a meeting with Zarif on Monday in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that China is determined to preserve the JCPOA.

He described the nuclear deal as important achievement of diplomacy and symbol of multilateralism.

Chinese Ambassador to Tehran Chang Hua said on Monday that Beijing is committed to a win-win cooperation with Tehran.

In a meeting with Seyyed Zia Hashemi, the managing director of IRNA, Chang said that China opposes the U.S. unilateralism and condemns sanctions against Iran.

He noted that there is no alternative for the JCPOA and implementation of the deal guarantees the regional security and stability.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a phone conversation with Emmanuel Bonne, diplomatic counselor to French President Emmanuel Macron on August 9, saying Beijing is willing to work with France to prevent further escalation of tensions on the Iran nuclear deal.

According to Xinhua, during the phone talks, Wang expressed China’s support for the mediation efforts France has made to resolve the stalemate on the Iran nuclear agreement, saying that China has also made huge efforts in saving the Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Adhering to the deal means safeguarding multilateralism, safeguarding fairness and justice, and safeguarding regional security and stability, said Wang.

As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, China is willing to join hands with France to safeguard the authority and validity of the international agreement, encourage all parties to show flexibility, and, in particular, prevent further escalation of the tensions, said Wang.

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