Obama calls Chinese president, asks for cooperation on Iran sanctions

US president Barack Obama has asked his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao to work together on the Iranian nuclear stand-off, as Washington pushes for imposition of early sanctions against a defiant Tehran.
     
Obama also welcomed Hu's participation in the Nuclear Security Summit later this month, saying it would be an "important opportunity for them to address their shared interest in stopping nuclear proliferation and protecting against nuclear terrorism".

Obama spoke to the Chinese president for an hour late Thursday night (local time) during which, the two discussed Iran, G-20 and the upcoming Nuclear Security Summit, the White House said in a statement.
    
The Chinese president called for "healthy and stable" relations with the US amid strains between the two countries over Tibet, arms sales to Taiwan and the Google spat.

However, the Chinese leader kept up his country's hard stance on Tibet and Taiwan, saying these issues concern China's sovereignty and core interest, a statement issued by the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.
     
Obama and Jintao also discussed the importance of developing a positive bilateral relationship, the White House said.

The phone call between the two leaders happened when Obama was returning to Washington from Boston and comes as top Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili is in Beijing to discuss possible UN sanctions against his country over its disputed nuclear programme.

After landing at Andrews, Air Force One was held for 10 minutes at the end of the runway so that Obama could finish up the phone call.

"President Obama underscored the importance of working together to ensure that Iran lives up to its international obligations," the statement said.
 
The telephonic conversation comes in the backdrop of Obama's recent statement that he wants tough new set of sanctions against Iran to be in place within "weeks".

"My hope is that we are going to get this (sanctions against Iran) done this spring. I'm interested in seeing that regime in place in weeks," Obama had said on Wednesday.

During the conversation, Obama also emphasised the importance of the US and China along with other major economies implementing the G20 commitments designed to produce balanced and sustainable growth, the White House said.

Earlier in the day, the White House deputy press secretary Bill Burton said the US has an important relationship with China, and two countries had their share of disagreements.