China and Iran expected to sign 25-year accord, Iranian state media says
- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will sign the agreement during his two-day visit to Beijing’s long-time ally, says state news agency IRNA
- The accord is expected to include Chinese investments in Iran’s energy and infrastructure sectors
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in Iran on Friday for a visit that Iranian state media said would see the signing of a 25-year cooperation agreement between the two countries, which are both under US sanctions.
The accord, final details of which are yet to be announced, is expected to include Chinese investments in Iran’s energy and infrastructure sectors.
In 2016, China, Iran’s largest trading partner and long-time ally, agreed to boost bilateral trade by more than 10 times to US$600 billion in the next decade.
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“The signing of the comprehensive cooperation programme of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the People’s Republic of China by the foreign ministers of the two countries is another programme of this two-day trip,” state news agency IRNA said.
Iran is hardening its stance towards the United States and the European parties to Tehran’s 2015 nuclear accord with world powers.
“This document is a complete road map with strategic political and economic clauses covering trade, economic and transportation cooperation … with a special focus on the private sectors of the two sides,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told state television.
On Thursday, China’s commerce ministry said Beijing would make efforts to safeguard the Iran nuclear deal and defend the legitimate interests of Sino-Iranian relations.