The Chinese foreign minister has expressed support for indirect talks between Iran and the United States, recognizing the Islamic Republic’s right to use peaceful nuclear program.

Wang Yi made the remarks during a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi in Beijing on Wednesday, ahead of the third round of Tehran-Washington nuclear discussions and after the US imposed new sanctions on Iran’s energy sector.

Wang said Beijing opposes the use of force and “illegal” sanctions to try to resolve Iran’s nuclear issue, according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement.

“The Chinese side commends Iran’s promise not to develop nuclear weapons and respects Iran’s right to utilize nuclear energy peacefully,” he added.

The top diplomat also noted that China is willing to deepen coordination and cooperation with Iran on international and regional affairs.

Araghchi, for his part, hailed China as a friendly country, saying it played a very important and positive role in previous nuclear negotiations.

Both countries believe in resistance against the US hegemony and bullying in the global arena, he pointed out.

Touching on the indirect talks with the US, Araghchi said Iran is “cautiously optimistic” due to contradictory messages coming from the opposite side in the news and media.

“There are many differences. We will enter into negotiations seriously on Saturday, and if the other side is also serious, there is room for progress,” he emphasized.

“I have repeatedly said that if the Americans’ only demand is that Iran should not have nuclear weapons, this is achievable …, but if they have other demands or impractical and illogical requests, then we will naturally run into problems.”

Later in an X post, the Iranian foreign minister stressed that the country will continue to regard China as a “reliable partner worthy of trust” no matter how the international situation changes.

In the last two weeks, representatives from Iran and the US have engaged in two rounds of negotiations in Oman and Italy. The two sides are set to conduct expert-level technical negotiations on April 26.