Li, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) said this while meeting an Iranian parliamentary delegation led by Islamic Consultative Assembly Speaker Mahdi Karrubi.

The friendly cooperative China-Iran ties had been moving forward in the political, economic, trade and cultural fields since the two nations forged diplomatic relations 31 years ago, especially since 1979, Li said.

As two developing countries that were highly complementary in trade and economic development, China and Iran hold the same or similar stances on many international or regional issues, Li said. China cherished its traditional friendship with Iran and was keen to improve bilateral friendly cooperation.

China appreciated Iran's support on the issues of human rights and Taiwan, Li said.

China persistently implemented an independent foreign policy of peace, maintaining that international conflicts should be peacefully resolved through negotiation and it opposed the use of force or military threats in such conflicts, he said.

China stood firmly against any form of terrorism and supported the efforts of the international community to unite and strengthen cooperation to cope with global challenges, including terrorism.

"However, China is against directing any anti-terrorism actions at any specific nation or religion," Li said.

Mahdi Karrubi said Iran-China cooperation in the political, economic, trade and cultural arenas had seen steady progress in recent years and showed great potential.

The Islamic Consultative Assembly was willing to make efforts to promote exchanges between the two parliaments and to boost bilateral ties, Karrubi added.

(Xinhua News Agency December 11, 2002)