BEIJING - China on Thursday called on parties concerned to adopt a flexible and pragmatic manner as they began a new round of talks on the Iran nuclear issue in Geneva.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei made the comment at a daily press briefing when asked to comment on the report that a senior U.S. official has said that the United States will offer Iran limited, targeted and reversible sanctions relief, but not touching the core architecture of the sanctions.

The talks in Geneva involve Iran and the P5+1 countries, namely, the United States, China, Russia, France and Britain plus Germany.

The spokesman said China hopes that the talks on the Iran nuclear issue could make new progress as soon as possible, and that China has been working for this end.

"We hold that all related sides should take a flexible and practical attitude, and seek a win-win solution that benefits all sides," Hong said.

He added that China is ready to cooperate with all sides to make the Geneva talks successful.

The Chinese delegation to Geneva is headed by Pang Sen, director-general of the department of arms control at the ?Chinese Foreign Ministry.