Iran mulls purchase of over 100 Boeing planes

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Xi witnessed high-ranking officials of their respective countries signing a total of 17 memorandums of understanding and other documents that establish “a maritime Silk Road of the 21st century” and the “peaceful use” of atomic energy, the Iranian presidency said.

Iranian officials said 16 agreements were to be signed during the visit.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday hailed the agreement during a state visit to the Iranian capital, calling it a “new season” for bilateral relations.

According to official Chinese data, trade volumes between the two countries reached $52 billion in 2014, representing a 70-percent increase on the previous year.

China hopes the Iran nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), can be implemented smoothly, Xi said, noting that China is willing to see Iran strike a brand-new pose on regional and worldwide stages.

The Iranian president said the two sides also agreed to work together to resolve the issue of “terrorism and extremism in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and Yemen”, but the details of such cooperation are unclear.

Iran may need to purchase as many as 500 new passenger planes over the next three years, due to its aging fleet, said Mahdi Hashemi, chairman of the parliament’s Development Commission during Tehran’s first major gathering of global businessmen.

Xi said that China and Iran agreed during his visit to upgrade their bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership, a move which would increase their strategic mutual trust, strengthen bilateral cooperation in all fields and benefit the two peoples in a better way.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei met in Tehran on Saturday, pledging to beef up practical cooperation between the two countries and jointly safeguard security, peace and stability in the region and around the world. China is to undertake the project as part of Xi’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative, meant to create a trade corridor between China and Europe.

According to Iranian media, more than a third of Iran’s foreign trade is with China.

Xi was quoted as saying that “the economies of Iran and China complete one another”.

Xi called on the two countries to build a long-term and stable cooperative relationship in energy area, and carry out cooperation in railway, highway, port, mining, communications, engineering machinery and infrastructure construction.

Riyadh and a number of Sunni Arab allies broke diplomatic ties with Iran this month after protesters, angry over the execution of a prominent Shi’ite cleric, ransacked Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran.