Iran, China Bolster Trade Ties
The GACC reported that the trade exchange between Iran and China in the first three quarters of the year increased 18% compared to the same period last year to $12.32 billion.
Tehran and Beijing exchanged $10.49 billion worth of goods between January and September in 2021.
China's imports from Iran in the first nine months of the year reached $5.37, up 11% from the same period last year. Between January and September 2021, China had imported $4.81 billion of goods from Iran.
China's exports to Iran in the period also grew 23% to $6.95 billion against $5.65 billion the year before.
Beijing has long sought to boost ties with Tehran, with Chinese President Xi Jinping describing Iran as "China's major partner in the Middle East" on a rare visit to the country in 2016.
Last year, the two countries signed a landmark agreement in defiance of unilateral US sanctions to strengthen long-standing economic and political alliance.
The deal officially documents the Sino-Iranian Comprehensive Strategic Partnership that had been announced during a visit by President Xi to boost economic cooperation between the two countries for the next 25 years, and paves the way for Iran’s participation in the Belt and Road Initiative, a massive infrastructure project stretching from East Asia to Europe.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi signed final documents in January to announce the start of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries.
The deal allows China to commit to hundreds of billions of dollars in investment in various sectors of the Iranian economy. Iran, in return, will commit to providing China with a stable supply of energy over the next 25 years.
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