China rejected US President Donald Trump's call to "break away" from the Iranian nuclear deal and work for a new one, saying the agreement is a "hard-won outcome" adopted by the UN and "all parties" should abide by it.
The nuclear deal called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was reached between Iran and the P5+1, the permanent members of the UN Security Council the US, the UK, Russia, France and China plus Germany and the European Union in 2015.
President Trump has repeatedly criticised the nuclear deal as "very defective" and "foolish". He has already withdrawn from the agreement arguing that it does not meet the desired objective.
Trump said on Wednesday that "the time has come" for other nations to "break away from the remnants of the Iran deal, or JCPOA, and we must all work together toward making a deal with Iran that makes the world a safer and more peaceful place."