China’s Xi bolsters Iran ties in Mideast tour

Iran and China signed 17 accords on January 23, including on nuclear cooperation and reviving the ancient Silk Road trade route, known in China as One Belt, One Road.

Late Saturday he met supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who said Tehran “would never forget” Beijing’s cooperation during the years of global sanctions against Iran.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said he hopes for a “new chapter” in relations with Iran after the lifting of global sanctions under a historic nuclear deal, as he paid the first visit by a Chinese leader to the Islamic Republic in 14 years.

Xi was in Iran on the final leg of his foreign trip that also took him to Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

“Iran is China’s major partner in the Middle East and the two countries have chosen to boost bilateral relations”, IRNA quoted President Xi as saying.

“Although China and Russian Federation backed United Nations sanctions against Iran on its nuclear program, they were also heavily pushing for special waivers to continue trading with Iran”, Geranmayeh said.

The value of trade exchanges between Tehran and Beijing stood at some $52 billion in 2014.

In a joint statement issued after the summit talks, China and Iran announced that they agree to set up an annual meeting mechanism between the their foreign ministers as a part of the efforts to deepen mutual strategic trust. It’s been more than a decade since an Iranian president has visited any European Union nation.

Iran, which has the world’s fourth-biggest oil reserves, has seen its production fall to less than three million barrels per day (bpd) since 2012. According to Minister Akhoundi, Iran’s current civil aviation fleet consists of 256 aircraft with an average age of 20 years, of which 100 are in storage. “Iran is really at the epicentre of unrest Mideast”, former U.S. secretary for homeland security Tom Ridge said.

Italy and France were among the first countries Iran opened its doors to after the nuclear deal was signed but one analyst says economic challenges still lie ahead.

The president said the visit will be a milestone in the history of Iran-China relations. The US, however, was “not honest” in its fight against terrorism in the Middle East, according to Reuters.

Mattarella noted the various fields of cooperation with Iran in the coming post-sanction period, adding “Italian companies have been looking forward for this moment and are now ready to resume their cooperation with Iran in various fields”.

“Iran had a relationship both politically and economically with China and Russian Federation for the last 10 years in ways that it hasn’t had with Europe”.

China is seeking to improve bilateral ties with Iran to start a new chapter of comprehensive, long-term and sustainable relations with the Islamic Republic.