BEIJING – Tehran and Beijing are making every effort to raise the level of their trade exchanges to $200 billion, the Iranian commerce minister announced here on Wednesday.

“For this purpose, the two sides must try to boost bilateral relations in the fields of energy, non-oil products, and engineering and technical services,” said Masud Mirkazemi.
Developing economic and trade relations between the permanent members of the SCO is one of the main objectives of the meeting, said Mirkazemi, who is visiting China to attend the first commerce ministers meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
According to IRNA, he stated that Iran should shortly join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
He expressed hope that the SCO meeting in addition to the trade and commercial ties will focus on non-economic cooperation too.
During his two-day visit to China, the Iranian commerce minister is due to hold talks with his Chinese counterpart Chen Deming on expansion of commercial cooperation.
Iran as well as Pakistan, India, and Mongolia, have observer status in SCO.
SCO is an intergovernmental economic organization which was founded in 2001 by the leaders of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan who make up the body’s permanent members.
----Sanctions are ineffective
The Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming said that the sanctions against Iran have placed no limitation on Tehran-Beijing trade.
The sides’ trade value in 2007 showed a 42 percent growth over the figure of its previous year, reaching $20 billion.
The countries had over $17 billion worth of transaction in the first 7 months of 2008 which indicates 52 percent rise