BEIJING - China on Tuesday again called on Iran to start a new round of nuclear talks with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany (G5+1) at an early date.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu made the remarks at a regular news briefing.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi is in Beijing on a goodwill visit to China.

Jiang said Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi held talks with Salehi on Monday and the two sides exchanged views on Iran's nuclear issues as well as bilateral relations and international and regional issues of common concern.

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping also met with Salehi Tuesday afternoon, she added.

Salehi's three-day visit came as the European Union adopted tougher sanctions on Iran to block its nuclear program.

The EU tightened its sanctions on Iran on Monday, freezing assets of  more than 100 more firms, diplomats said.

During the meeting with Yang, Salehi asked China to send experts to see its nuclear facilities, in a fresh effort to persuade the world that its atomic activities should not attract sanctions.

China did not respond to the invitation immediately, but Jiang told the news briefing that China would seriously consider the offer.

"We believe that dialogue and negotiations are the right way to seek overall, long-term and appropriate resolution of Iran's nuclear problem, " said Jiang.

China hopes Iran could start the next round of talks with the G5+1 and further enhance cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), she added.