UN: China yesterday backed the joint statement by Germany, France and Russia opposing a resolution authorising an attack on Iraq, putting a majority of the UN Security Council permanent members at direct odds with the US and Britain.
Mr Tang Jiaxuan, Chinese Foreign Minister, said it was "absolutely unnecessary" to issue another resolution, adding that war in Iraq would be a "humanitarian catastrophe".
"We support and affirm the content of the three countries' joint statement," he said.
However, Mr Tang insisted it was "too early to say" whether China would consider using its veto in any vote on a second resolution authorising the use of force against Iraq.
Chinese officials and scholars say Beijing will not exercise its power of veto in any vote for fear of upsetting ever-sensitive ties with the US, its most important economic partner. China abstained in a similar vote in 1991 authorising the Gulf war.
However, the Chinese support for the statement by fellow permanent Security Council members France and Russia, which together with Germany said on Wednesday that they would block a new resolution authorising force against Iraq, adds to the diplomatic challenge facing Washington and London.
Mr Tang was at pains in a press conference at the meeting of the National People's Congress, the country's top legislative body, to stress that Beijing still believed war could be averted.
"Even is there only a 1 per cent chance of a political resolution, then China will pursue that goal," he said. The foreign minister echoed French and German sentiments by saying the tasks laid out in Security Council Resolution 1441 on Iraqi disarmament had yet to be fulfilled and UN weapons inspections should be stepped up.
Later yesterday, Chinese President Jiang Zemin and France's Jacques Chirac spoke by telephone.
President Jiang reiterated that China opposed any new UN resolution to pave the way for war in Iraq, the Xinhua news agency said.
Every effort should be made to find a political solution to the Iraq crisis, the official Chinese news agency quoted President Jiang as saying.
The Chinese leader also said the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1441 was proceeding fairly well and the weapons inspection mechanism should be strengthened, according to Xinhua.
President Jiang also told President Chirac that China backed the joint declaration issued by France, Germany and Russia in opposing any new resolution leading to war, Xinhua said.