Iran, China Agree to Increase Annual Non-Oil Trade to $20bln
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian economy minister and his visiting Chinese counterpart signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to increase the two countries' annual non-oil trade to $20bln.
Ali Tayyebnia, Iranian minister of economic affairs and finance and Chinese Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng signed the comprehensive cooperation agreement in a meeting Saturday in Tehran during the 15th Session of Iran-China Joint Economic Cooperation Commission.
“The Iranian government has always been interested in developing relations with major and influential countries, and because of good cooperation in the past I think there are broad potentials for the development of bilateral cooperation between the two countries,” Tayyebnia said.
The two sides also expressed the hope that the two side would achieve the $20 billion non-oil trade ties within the next two years .
The 16th Session of Iran-China Joint Economic Cooperation Commission is due to be held in Beijing.
On January 20, Chinese Ambassador to Tehran Yuhang Yang announced that the value of trade exchanges between the two countries stood at $31 billion in the first ten months of 2013, a 5.3 percent growth year on year.
The bilateral trade amounted to $36 billion in 2012, the diplomat added.
In December 2013, Iran-China Joint Chamber of Commerce Chairman Asadollah Asgaroladi announced that the annual trade between Iran and China may reach $38 billion by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2014).