Olmert heads to China seeking tougher stand on Iran

TEL AVIV, Jan 8 (Reuters) Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert today headed to China, where he will lobby for Beijing to close ranks with Western powers against Iran's nuclear programme.

Olmert's three-day visit comes with his standing at home sagging over corruption scandals, anger at the inconclusive war in Lebanon and a diplomatic deadlock with the Palestinians.

China has offered to mediate in the latter conflicts as it seeks to bolster access to stable West Asia energy supplies.

Israel has so far focused diplomatic efforts on its top ally, the United States, and the Europeans. That strategy seemed justified, to many Israelis, when China broke with the West by engaging the Hamas Islamists who now govern the Palestinians.

But as China, like Russia, is shaping up to be a key swing voter among permanent members of UN Security Council when itcomes to handling Israel's arch-foe Iran, the Olmert government appears to be reorienting itself towards Beijing.

''There will be discussions of bilateral issues -- mainly, but not only, economic,'' Olmert's spokeswoman, Miri Eisin, said about the visit, citing specific areas of cooperation such as agriculture, water supplies and science.

''I am sure the Iranian issue will come up also, though this is not the primary issue,'' she said.

Olmert is expected to meet President Hu Jintao, Premier Wen Jiabao and Commerce Minister Bo Xilai, Eisin said.

He will be following hard on the heels of Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani, who visited Beijing last week.

Larijani was quoted by the Iranian news agency IRNA as saying there that Tehran remains committed to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which assures signatories the right to develop nuclear fuel for energy purposes but bans bomb making.

''But if we would be further threatened, our conditions too would be subject to alterations,'' Larijani said.

Israel, which is believed to have the West Asia's only atomic arsenal, has endorsed the diplomatic pressure on Iran. But it has not ruled out military action against Iranian nuclear sites, something that could massively destabilise the region.

BOOMS AND BOMBS Olmert is the third Israeli prime minister to visit China since relations were established 15 years ago, a period that has seen bilateral trade boom to more than 3 billion dollars.

But that pales next to China's huge consumption of Iranian oil, which makes up some 12 percent of its crude imports.

''Obviously, we'd like to see a change in China's voting patterns, but we also have to accept the economic realities at work here,'' an Israeli official said on condition of anonymity.

''No one tells China what to do. If it chooses to toughen up on Iran, it will need a major strategic boon in return -- say, closer relations with the United States.'' China backed a Security Council resolution last month imposing sanctions on Iran's trade in sensitive nuclear materials and technology, an attempt to halt uranium enrichment work that could lead to bomb production.

But eschewing tough talk increasingly heard in Washington and some European capitals, Beijing has consistently urged a resumption of diplomacy to defuse the standoff over the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme, which Tehran says is peaceful.

''We will exchange views in an in depth way on the West Asia issue,'' said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao.

Zhang Xiaodong, a West Asia expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Olmert's visit was an important chance for China to explore playing a greater trouble-shooting role in a region where its diplomatic influence is still limited.

''Currently many issues have come up in the Middle East and the situation is very complicated, especially the Iran issue, which concerns China,'' he said. ''The visit will increase the mutual understanding.'' Reuters AB GC1841