Iran Accelerating China Ties Under Raisi Administration

Iran’s Foreign minister who is visiting China to follow up on a 25-year agreement with Beijing says bilateral cooperation is accelerating under the current administration.

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian arrived in China at the head of a high-ranking delegation at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, on Friday.

The pace of expanding bilateral ties has been accelerating during the administration of President Ebrahim Raisi as the governments of Iran and China “have made very good progress in various issues in line with the interests of both sides”, Amir-Abdollahian said.

After meeting with the Chinses foreign minister in the city of Wuxi in the eastern province of Jiangsu, the visiting Iranian diplomat tweeted in Chinese, saying that they discussed a wide range of topics such as the 25-year comprehensive cooperation plan and the Vienna talks to revive the 2915 nuclear deal.

Noting that Iran and China are in the 50th year of their diplomatic ties, Amir-Abdollahian expressed hope that the relationship between the two countries will leap forward in the new era.

Tehran and Beijing have signed a 25-year strategic cooperation agreement and Iran is hoping to get Chinese investments and more diplomatic support. However, Beijing so far has not seriously challenged US sanctions, as it has cultivated closer ties with the Gulf Arab countries and Israel.