Olmert wrapped up his visit to China by chatting with Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Nothing groundbreaking from China on Iran; Olmert potentially retreating from Sharron’s policy of withdrawal; and Iran’s nuclear negotiator OKs the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

From Reuter’s coverage, appearing in multiple publications:

His [Olmert’s] discussions with Hu proved “satisfactory beyond expectations”, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told reporters on departure from Beijing, without elaborating…

“The fact that they (joined the resolution) is significant,” Olmert said.

His aides said that in his meeting with Hu he praised China for coming out strongly against Iran, which insists its atomic ambitions are peaceful but whose virulent rhetoric against Israel has raised war fears abroad.

“But while we are happy with the diplomacy so far, the prime minister did make clear that, ultimately, tougher economic sanctions may be needed,” one Olmert aide said.

Hu’s office had no immediate comment on the talks.

But on another front—Israel’s stance on unilateral withdrawal, the policy Ariel Sharron endorsed—there is some possibility important news:

In an interview with Chinese news agency Xinhua, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert seemed to signal a sudden shift in policy with his statement that unilateral withdrawal has proven to be a failed policy.

Olmert, who began a three-day visit to China on Tuesday, told the news agency that while he was willing to negotiate a withdrawal from most of Judea and Samaria, it would only be done in the framework of bilateral negotiations with the Palestinian Authority.

On the face of it, Olmert’s remarks contradict the unilateral withdrawal, or “convergence,” plan that he’d been promoting since becoming prime minister.

Not really shocking with Olmert’s slipping popularity in Israel.

And getting back to the Iran nuclear dilemma, we have this from Xinhua:

Iran‘s chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani said on Tuesday that the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is “good” if it is enforced justly, the official IRNA news agency reported.

 Larijani made the remarks at a joint press conference with visiting Chairman of Pakistan’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee Mushahid Hussain Sayed.

Iran has criticized the NPT before as unfairly monopolizing nuclear technology its depository powers—aka the recognized nuclear states: the United States, Russia, Great Britain, France, and and China.