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China said Tuesday that sanctions were not the answer to the stand-off over Iran's nuclear programme, after US officials said Beijing and Washington had agreed to jointly push for new punitive action.

But foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu also said China backs a "dual-track strategy" -- continued dialogue with Tehran while considering the possibility of sanctions if that fails to halt sensitive nuclear work.

She was speaking after talks between Chinese President Hu Jintao and US President Barack Obama in Washington on the issue, after which US officials said the two sides had agreed to push forward with a new UN resolution on Iran.

"China always believes that dialogue and negotiation are the best way out for the issue. Pressure and sanctions cannot fundamentally solve it," Jiang told reporters.

But she added: "The actions of the Security Council should help turn around the situation and properly solve the issue through dialogue and negotiation."

After the Hu-Obama talks in Washington, Jeff Bader, senior director for Asia on the US National Security Council, said: "The Chinese very clearly share our concern about the Iranian nuclear programme.