TEHRAN – The fourth roundtable on China-Iran Sinology Development and Culture after the COVID-19 Pandemic was held online on Tuesday.

The meeting was held through video conferencing with scholars and researchers from the two countries in attendance, IRNA reported.

Center for China studies in Tehran’s Allameh Tabataba’i University in collaboration with Beijing Language and Culture University organized the event.

Professor Song Xian, member of Chinese Academy of History and Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; Dr. Liu Hui, member of Shanghai International Studies University and Director of Persian Faculty; Dr. Shahla Bagheri, member of Kharazmi University’s Department of Social Sciences; and Dr. Zahra Mirhosseini, member of Alzahra University of Faculty of Social Sciences and Economics were the keynote speakers of the forum.

The cultural attaché of the Iranian Embassy in China, and the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization participated in holding the meeting.

The most important element of the science and technology section of the Tehran-Beijing 25-year strategic partnership is the enhanced academic cooperation between universities of the two countries, deputy science minister Hossein Salar Amoli has said.

The development of Persian language chairs in Chinese universities, the cooperation of science and technology parks, and the granting of mutual scholarships between the two countries, he said, IRNA reported on Monday.

Cooperation of Chinese knowledge-based companies in Iranian knowledge-based companies and transfer of knowledge and technology by the private sector are other parts of the science and technology section, he noted.

Iran and China are negotiating over a long-term cooperation agreement that is yet to be finalized. The cabinet of President Hassan Rouhani approved the draft of the 25-year comprehensive cooperation plan on June 21 and tasked Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif with negotiating with China over the plan in order to finalize it.

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