China’s President Xi Jinping seeks ‘early bird’ advantage with Iran as he lands in Tehran just days after lifting of sanctions

President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) visit to Iran, which comes just days after the lifting of international sanctions on the Middle Eastern nation, is aimed at securing “early bird” advantages ahead of Western competitors, analysts say.

Xi arrived in Tehran yesterday, less than a week after decade-long UN sanctions against the country’s nuclear programme came to an end last Saturday.

Beijing and Tehran nations planned to sign “around 17 cooperation documents in the economic, judicial, cultural, media and investment fields” during Xi’s two-day stay, Iranian ambassador to Beijing Ali Asghar Khaji said.

China has been Iran’s top trade partner for six years in a row, with bilateral trade hitting a record US$52 billion in 2014. It has also been the number one buyer of Iranian crude since 2011, when many countries, especially in the West, ramped up sanctions to strictly prohibit most forms of business with the country.

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Pang Sen, Chinese Ambassador to Iran, said that aside from oil and gas investments, Iran was key to Xi’s “One Belt, One Road” development plan, which focuses on trade, infrastructure and the transfer of China’s excess industrial capacity.

“China would like to deepen our cooperation in road, railway, shipping and the internet,” Xi said in a signed article published by the official newspaper Iran on Thursday.