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HONG KONG-China asked Iran on Thursday to “respond positively” to international pressures to limit its nuclear program, a possible sign that China is responding to American demands that it take a greater role in combating nuclear proliferation.“We have taken note of the developments and we request Iran to positively respond and attach importance to the concerns and voice of the international community,” said Liu Jianchao, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman.While China has sought for many months to avoid an international confrontation over Iran’s nuclear program, Mr. Liu’s phrasing was tougher than usual toward Iran. Jonathan D. Pollack, the professor of Asian and Pacific studies at the Naval War College, said, “That’s got a bit more spice to it than most Chinese statements about this.” Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Monday in Beijing that during meetings with Chinese officials, he had raised “the importance of increased pressures” on Iran to curtail the development of nuclear weapons. A senior American official, speaking on diplomatic rules of anonymity regarding private talks, also said late on Monday that the Chinese had agreed that “a nuclear-armed Iran is something we are united in opposing.”President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran said Sept. 2 that his country had 3,000 centrifuges for the production of enriched uranium, which can be used to make nuclear weapons. He said Wednesday that all the centrifuges were in full operation, although some experts have questioned whether so many can be quickly brought into efficient production.The official Xinhua news agency said Mr. Liu called on Iran to show restraint, while noting that China hoped to resolve the issue peacefully.As in the days of Noah....
