Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing called for warmer relations with the US and put pressure on Iran to resolve the row over its nuclear program as he told reporters at the National People’s Congress that China’s development would benefit other countries. Ahead of President Hu Jintao’s visit to the US next month, Li said Beijing would try to reduce its US$202 billion trade surplus with Washington and urged US politicians to resist calls for action against China for alleged unfair trading practices. He argued that trade with China created 4-8 million jobs in the US. On the Iranian nuclear dispute, Li advocated further negotiations, emphasizing that Tehran could settle the issue if it cooperated with the International Atomic Energy Agency. But the foreign minister’s words of peace and equanimity didn�t stretch to Japan as he branded Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s visits to a controversial war shrine as �stupid� .