The annual Munich Security Conference closed Sunday after intensive talks on a rising Asia, Iran's nuclear program and reform of the West's security institutions.

The pursuit of "networked security" was clearly seen at the conference, as the West sought more integrated security institutions and wider international cooperation to cope with global threats, and tried to solve disputes over Iran's nuclear program through joint international efforts.

VOICE OF CHINA

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi delivered an opening speech at the high-level political forum. It was the first appearance of a Chinese foreign minister in the conference's 46-year history.

Yang answered two main questions asked by many Western countries: How will an ever developing China interact with the rest of the world? What role will China play on the international stage?

Yang said that while focusing on its own peaceful development, China is undertaking more international responsibilities in a transforming and closely-linked world.

It is a strategic choice that China has made to "seek a peaceful international environment to develop ourselves and at the same time contribute to the cause of world peace through our own development," Yang said.

"Our own interests and those of others are best served when we work together to expand common interests, share responsibilities and seek win-win outcomes," the minister said. "All of us should embrace a diverse world with an open mind."

Chairman of the Munich conference, Wolfgang Ischinger, told Xinhua that the West was very interested in hearing the speech of Yang, because "China is playing now an increasingly active role in almost all questions of global policy."

Eberhard Sandschneider, director of the Research Institute of the German Council on Foreign Relations, said the conference broke its transatlantic tradition to invite Yang.

"The Chinese self-confidence presented here is something new for many participants with transatlantic background," he told Xinhua. "China's importance has gained significantly, and we no longer live in a transatlantic but a global environment."

GREATER PRESSURE ON IRAN

Disputes over Iran's nuclear program ran through the three-day conference, which started with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki's surprise arrival on Friday.

Mottaki told a discussion panel at the conference that Iran was expected to reach a nuclear fuel swap deal with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in a "not too distant future," which raised hopes of a possible softening of Iran's stance or a breakthrough over the prolonged disputes.

Mottaki kept sending optimistic signals after meeting his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, and the IAEA's new chief Yukiya Amano. Mottaki said Iran was willing to exchange some of its low-enriched uranium for higher-grade fuel, as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday.

Yet the faint light of hope died out soon, when the IAEA said they received no new approach from Iran. Two leading U.S. senators Joseph Lieberman and John Kerry then accused Iran of "telling lies at this international meeting" to buy time. The two lawmakers threatened to impose tough economic sanctions.

On Sunday, Iran's Atomic Energy Organization said it would begin enriching uranium to a purity of 20 percent on Tuesday, with the instructions from President Ahmadinejad.

The United States, Britain and Germany signalled separately on Sunday that they were running out of patience. A new round of sanctions might be brewing.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Sunday that "if the international community will stand together and bring pressure to bear on the Iranian government, there is still time for sanctions and pressure to work."

Many speakers in the conference also called for a collective move of world powers to press Iran to weigh the costs and gains of its "provocative actions" through every possible diplomatic channel.

Although many Western countries believe Iran used a delaying tactic in Munich, Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said Iran's swaying stance might reflect the conflicting views among the country's decision-makers on the nuclear program.

REFORM OF WESTERN SECURITY INSTITUTIONS

Faced with an emerging Asia and an unpredictable Iran, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU) -- two major security structures of the West -- are both eager for more integrated security institutions to maintain influence and gain rapid response capability in a changing world.

NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen sketched out some new pictures for the 60-year-old organization in Munich, saying that NATO should become "the hub of a network of security partnerships and a center for consultation on international security issues" with closer ties with countries such as China and India.

He hoped to transform NATO into a new organization, by connecting the organization with broader international systems and turning itself into a forum for consultation on worldwide security issues.

The NATO chief said that in an age of globalized insecurity, the alliance's territorial defense must begin beyond national borders, adding that NATO's core task is to defend its member states, rather than become a competitor with United Nations.

German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg also said NATO's transatlantic partnership should be "complemented in a very natural way by the trans-Pacific partnership" through cooperation with nations like China and India.

Mei Zhaorong, former Chinese ambassador to Germany, said NATO's new strategy recognizes Asian countries' role in tackling global challenges, but it is just a sketchy notion and might encounter conflict of interests within or out of the alliance when it comes to details.

"What remains to be seen is also whether it would compromise the role of the United Nations," he added.

As for the EU, their plan seems more modest. The bloc's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton told the conference that EU member states should "mobilize all levers of influence -- political, economic, plus civil and military crisis management tools -- in support of a single political strategy."

She said her aim was to add value for the EU by offering a collective response in tackling global threats, including terrorism, piracy, cyber attacks, Iran nuclear issue, energy security and climate change.

Thorsten Benner, associate director of Berlin-based Global Public Policy Institute, said that with the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, the EU should do more on "creating operational capabilities" and be really serious about conflict prevention and regional management.

Serious dialogue and cooperation are the only way to move from a zero-sum game to a positive-sum game of common responsibility, he said.