President Urges Efforts to Make Up for Lagging Development of Iran-China Ties
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi described Iran and China as two independent states with common interests in the regional and international arenas, calling for plans to expedite the expansion of relations that has been slower than expected.
Speaking to reporters before leaving Tehran for Beijing on Monday for a state visit to China, Raisi said Iran and China have similar views on fighting unilateralism at the international level.
He said both countries are members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and this membership helped them have close ties with countries in the region and elsewhere in Asia.
He added that the SCO membership has finalized Iran’s connection to regional infrastructure and has provided Tehran with a good ground to cement its relations with Asian countries, including China.
“We have good global and international contacts and have common positions with China on countering unilateralism and (maintaining our) political independence,” Iran’s president said.
“These (common) positions have brought us closer together and we have good cooperation with China in political and economic areas as well as with regard to various issues at regional and global levels,” the president added, Press TV reported.
“The two countries’ potentialities for the promotion of relations, especially in the fields of trade, have been ignored and, unfortunately, we are facing a major lag in this regard,” he noted.
“Countries like China and Iran enjoy many potentialities and as two independent countries, they have common interests in the region and the world and can further expand their relations. Therefore, we must make up for the lag that has so far existed with respect to China,” Raisi added.
He noted that to achieve that goal, the potentialities of both countries must be exactly identified, especially with regard to trade and economic exchanges.
“We have relations with China in various economic, energy, financial, and monetary fields and these relations must continue. Our ministers will sign agreements during this trip. On the whole, 20 agreements will be signed by the two countries’ high-ranking officials,” he said.
In March 2021, the foreign ministers of Iran and China signed a 25-year agreement to develop cooperation between the two countries in various fields.
The Iran-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership was announced in a joint statement during a visit by the Chinese president to Tehran in 2016.
China has strengthened its position as Iran’s top trade partner in recent years. During the first ten months of the current Iranian year (March 21, 2022 – January 20, 2023), China has exported $12.7 billion worth of goods to Iran and its imports from Iran stood at $12.6 billion.