Wu made the remarks after China voted for the resolution, submitted by France, Germany and Britain, which was recently adopted by IAEA Board of Governors in Vienna.

"At present, there is, we believe, still room for resolving the Iranian nuclear issue within the framework of the IAEA," Wu said.

The international atomic watchdog had earlier decided to report the Iranian nuclear issue to the U.N. Security Council.

"The relevant provisions pertaining to reporting to the UN Security Council contained in the just-adopted Resolution, as we understand it, shall not be construed as an exercise based on Article 12C or Article 3B of the Statute of the Agency," he added.

"On the contrary," Wu said, "the very purpose underlined of this exercise is to enable the Agency to better address the Iranian nuclear issue."

"It is with this understanding that the Chinese delegation voted for the above draft resolution," he pointed out.

China has all along stood for an early and proper resolution ofthe Iranian nuclear issue "through negotiation and by diplomatic means," and it will continue to do so in the future, Wu said whileaddressing the extraordinary meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors.

China hopes the result of this special session will facilitate attainment of the above objective and help to mitigate current difficulties in the negotiation process, he added.

Wu noted that the relevant parties "should spare no diplomatic efforts by seizing any possible opportunity to resolve the issue."

"In this context, the Chinese side calls on all relevant parties to exercise restraint and patience at this very moment and refrain from taking any action that might further complicate or deteriorate the situation," he said.

They should strive to bring about "an early and proper resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue through continued negotiation," Wu added.

"This, we believe, represents the most sensible and most ideal formula in the best interests of all parties," he noted.

Earlier on Saturday, the extraordinary meeting of IAEA's 35-member Board of Governors voted with 27 in favor, 3 against and5 in abstention to adopt a resolution, which requested the IAEA chief to report the Iranian nuclear issue to the U.N. Security Council.

Special Report: Iran Nuclear Crisis

Relates Stories:

IAEA decides to report Iran to UN Security Council

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors adopted a resolution to report the Iranian nuclear issue to the U.N. Security Council during its extraordinary meeting in Vienna Saturday.

The resolution, which was submitted by France, Germany and Britain, was approved with an overwhelming majority from the IAEA decision-making body. Of the 35 members on the IAEA Board of Governors, 27 voted yes, three voted no and five abstained.

A Vienna-based diplomat said Cuba, Venezuela and Syria voted against the resolution, while Algeria, Belarus, Indonesia, Libya and South Africa abstained.

According to the rules of IAEA, if a draft resolution cannot be passed unanimously, a vote should be taken and adoption merely needs a simple majority.

While urging Iran to take "confidence building measures," the resolution "deems it necessary" for Iran to take some steps like:

-- "re-establish full and sustained suspension of all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities, including research and development, to be verified by the Agency (IAEA);"

-- "reconsider the construction of a research reactor moderated by heavy water;"

-- "ratify promptly and implement in full the Additional Protocol;"

-- "pending ratification, continue to act in accordance with the provisions of the Additional Protocol which Iran signed on Dec. 18, 2003."

The resolution "requests the (IAEA) Director General to report to the Security Council of the United Nations that these steps are required of Iran by the Board and to report to the Security Council all IAEA reports and resolutions, as adopted, relating to this issue."

It also "requests the (IAEA) Director General to report on the implementation of this and previous resolutions to the next regular session of the Board, for this consideration, and immediately thereafter to convey, together with any Resolution from the March Board, that report to the Security Council."

Right after the adoption of the resolution, Javad Vaeidi, deputy secretary of Supreme National Security Council of Iran, held a press conference outside the conference hall, warning that Iran will resume "full-scale" uranium enrichment in addition to the enrichment research and development.

However, he refused to notify when to start the full scale enrichment.

"This resolution is politically motivated since it is not based on any legal or technical grounds," he said.

The official said Iran would continue to comply with its legal obligation under the Statute and Safeguards of the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran considers a clear distinction between voluntary measures and legally binding obligations," he said.

U.S. ambassador to the IAEA Gregory Schulte called on Iran to take necessary steps to regain confidence from the international community.

"The authorities in Tehran listen to the world, rather than to threaten the world," he said.

The ambassador said the leadership in Iran has an "important choice," to choose the "path of cooperation" or "confrontation."

"Choosing the path of cooperation rather than confrontation would best serve the people of Iran, who deserve nuclear energy in international respect, and not a future of increasing isolation," he said.

British ambassador to the IAEA Peter Jenkins made a warning to Iran, saying: "Should Iran fail to comply with the Board's wishes, it will fall to the Security Council to bring additional pressure to bear on Iran in support of the continuing efforts of the IAEA."

He also urged Iran not to threaten to withhold full cooperation with the IAEA and reject the Russian proposal on enrichment.

In an interview with Xinhua, Chinese delegation chief Wu Hailong said the adoption of the resolution does not mean to immediately refer the nuclear dispute to the Security Council and the resolution does not require the top U.N. decision-making body to take action.

"At present, there is, we believe, still room for resolving the Iranian nuclear issue within the framework of the IAEA," he said.

Meanwhile, Iranian representative Abbas Araghchi appealed in Munich Saturday to the international community to avoid double standards on its nuclear activity.

Speaking at the 42nd Munich Conference on Security Policy, Araghchi, Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, said Iran's nuclear facilities are open to international inspectors and every step of his country's nuclear program is clear.

He expressed his bewilderedness that a small scale of nuclear activity in Iran was considered a threat and hit headlines, while "other country (referring to Israel) in our region with more than 200 nuclear warheads and violates the human rights of the Palestinians by occupying their land" was exempt of such accusation.

Iran has insisted that its nuclear program is designed to meet rising domestic demand for electricity and that it is fully peaceful.

According to the IAEA agenda, the Board of Governors will hold another meeting to discuss a full report on the Iranian nuclear issue, to be presented by IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei, and the meeting will then decide the next action.

China hopes Iran to resume talks with EU

China hopes Iran to resume suspension of nuclear research and development activities and resume talks with the European Union (EU) as soon as possible, chief of Chinese delegation Wu Hailong said in Vienna on Thursday.

"The Chinese side hopes that Iran will resume suspension of its nuclear fuel R&D activities and resume negotiations with the European side as soon as possible," Wu addressed the extraordinary meeting of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). >>>more

FM Li meets Iran's chief nuclear negotiator

Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing held talks in Beijing Thursday with visiting Iranian chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani.

They had an exchange of views mainly on Iran's nuclear issue and other related issues concerning the growth of bilateral relations. >>>more