Tehran said on Wednesday it would respond by the end of August to the package but some diplomats have expressed fears that during the time before it responds, Iran could move closer to mastering the ability to enrich nuclear fuel — a key to building atomic weapons.
"China hopes Iran can actively respond to the efforts of the international community," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told a news conference.
"The early resumption of talks is the aspiration of the international community."
Iran insists on the right to produce its own nuclear fuel, which it says is for generating electricity. But if it rejects the package of incentives and penalties proposed by Germany and permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, the powers could move toward stronger measures such as sanctions.
Iran is China’s third-biggest supplier of crude oil imports, and Beijing has long advocated dialogue, rather than penalties, to resolve the stand-off.
China also hosted Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad earlier this month.