AFP, 19 Jan 2012 – Iran slipped further into global isolation on Thursday as China, its traditional ally, warned Tehran against its pursuit of nuclear weapons. ‘China adamantly opposes Iran developing and possessing nuclear weapons’, Wen Jiabao, the Chinese premier, said after a visit to the Gulf in which he met the leaders of the states most threatened by Iran’s aggressive foreign policy. Wen Jiabao, the Chinese premier, issued Beijing’s clearest condemnation yet.
‘China adamantly opposes Iran developing and possessing nuclear weapons,’ he said.
China appears to have sent a message to Iran that it could not rely on Beijing’s unstinting support by reducing its imports of oil at a time when the US and Europe are promoting an embargo on the country.
The Washington Post reported that China trimmed its oil imports from Iran in January from a daily average of around 550,000 barrels to 285,000 barrels a day.