Annan discusses Iran with Chinese president

May 19, 2006, 14:52 GMT

Beijing - United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan and Chinese President Hu Jintao discussed Iran and other international issues on Friday, following Annan's similar talks in Japan and South Korea this week.

Annan and Hu 'exchanged opinions on South-South cooperation, Sino-African relations, the Iran nuclear issue' and other topics, the government's Xinhua news agency said.

They also discussed China's cooperation with UN bodies, and Annan praised Beijing for its 'positive contribution' to global peace efforts, the agency said.

Annan arrived in Beijing earlier on Friday at the start of his five-day visit to China, which is one of the five veto-wielding permanent members of the UN Security Council.

There were no further details of his talks with Hu, which were also expected cover reform of the council, the international standoff over North Korea's nuclear programme, and a possible Asian successor to Annan.

In Japan on Thursday, Annan had called for negotiations to resolve the Iranian nuclear conflict while urging all parties in the dispute to exercise restraint.

Annan, whose term expires at the end of this year, urged Iran and the Western powers that are discussing a response to Teheran's nuclear programme to refrain from actions and rhetoric that could further inflame the situation.

Hu and other Chinese leaders have repeatedly made similar calls for restraint and urged more effort to find a diplomatic solution to the standoff.

The UN chief said Iran also needs to enable the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN's nuclear watchdog, to lift the cloud of suspicion over the nation's nuclear activities.

Teheran has said in nuclear programme is only for energy production, but the United States and European Union fear it is using the programme to develop nuclear weapons.

Annan was scheduled to visit Vietnam and Thailand after China.