BEIJING: China confirmed it would meet with other world powers in New York on Thursday to discuss the next steps against Iran over its suspect nuclear programme.

"China will participate in the relevant discussions," foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told reporters.

"China still believes dialogue and consultation are the best way to solve the nuclear issue."

The talks bring together the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- plus Germany, who have been negotiating with Iran for months.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner had said in Paris on Wednesday that China had agreed to join the so-called P5+1 talks in New York, home to the UN headquarters, but admitted he was unsure if sanctions would be on the table.

"What will this discussion be like? Will we be able to talk about a text, of content? Will we be going through the motions? I don't know," Kouchner said.

Kouchner nevertheless described the Chinese stance as "a positive factor" and "good news".

China has until now refused to back Western calls for new sanctions against Tehran, and last week played host to the Islamic republic's chief nuclear negotiator.

Beijing has a close diplomatic and trade relationship with Iran, dominated by its imports of Iranian energy resources.

Last week, US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice said China was ready for "serious negotiations" on Iran -- a move hailed by the White House as an "important step" -- but Beijing has so far not signalled any policy shift.

The United States and its allies suspect Iran is secretly trying to develop the atomic bomb, but Tehran says its nuclear drive is purely for civilian energy purposes, and that it has the right to nuclear technology.

Russia has also been reluctant to agree new sanctions but has taken a harder line on Iran's nuclear programme in recent weeks.

On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he doubted the punitive measures under consideration would be enough to convince the Islamic republic, the Jewish state's arch-foe, to abandon its atomic ambitions.

Netanyahu told a news conference in Jerusalem that the only "real effective sanctions would those which hit Iran's energy market, either the imports of refined fuel or the production of petroleum."

The sole, if undeclared, nuclear-armed power in the Middle East, the Jewish state has repeatedly said it would not rule out a military option in dealing with Iran.

The UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, brokered a deal last October which envisages Iran sending its low-enriched uranium (LEU) to France and Russia for conversion into fuel for a small research reactor.

But Iranian officials have refused to hand over Tehran's stockpiles of LEU, insisting on a simultaneous swap for higher-enriched uranium inside Iran.

The United States, Russia, and France have opposed this condition.

Following the deadlock over the deal, Washington has been spearheading global efforts to impose new sanctions on Tehran.

Iran is already under three sets of UN sanctions for pursuing the uranium enrichment work, the most controversial part of its atomic drive.