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Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi answers questions during a news conference on the sidelines of the Fifth Session of the 11th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 6, 2012.[Photo by Jiang Dong/chinadaily.com.cn]

BEIJING - The priorities of China's diplomacy this year are to uphold peace and tackle thorny regional and international issues through dialogues, consultation and negotiation responsibly, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said Tuesday.

China would further consolidate the friendly cooperation with other countries, and regional and international organizations to expand common interests and jointly tackle global challenges, so as to maintain world peace and boost development, Yang told reporters at a press conference during the nation's annual parliamentary session.

China's diplomatic work aims to create a more favorable external environment this year by properly tackling external risks and challenges to serve the country's ?primary goal of transforming economic development mode in a fast pace.

"China will continue to conduct diplomacy from all dimensions and in a wide range and make further innovations in theories and practices so as to make positive contributions to the opening of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the full implementation of the 12th Five-Year Plan," the foreign minister said.

He also noted that the world has undergone profound and complex changes.

"The trend of peace and development is gathering momentum while the world is closely interdependent, but the impacts of international financial crisis are still with us. The global economy is recovering slowly. The challenges from climate change, energy and food security remain prominent. All these issues will leave major impacts to the global situations and China's diplomacy in the time to come," he said.

In a lengthy review of China's diplomacy over the past decade, Yang said China has actively participated in global governance, facilitated the international system to develop in a direction favorable to the developing countries, and devoted itself to expanding the representation and influence of China and the developing countries at large in international affairs.

"Over the past decade, China has become an active participant making constructive contributions in dealing with regional and international challenges, especially the hot-spot issues, and an import engine to drive global economic growth," Yang said.

Yang said that the Iran nuclear issue should be resolved through dialogues and cooperation but not confrontations and sanctions.