TEHRAN - The 25-year agreement signed between Iran and China last year is a “remarkable milestone” in the two countries’ relationship, a senior Chinese political analyst and researcher said on Saturday.

Yilun Zhang, a research associate and administrative officer at the Institute for China-America Studies, also believes that the comprehensive partnership agreement will boost the stability and prosperity of the West Asia region.

Iran and China recently announced that the partnership agreement has gone into effect.  The announcement was made while Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian visited China on January 13-14.

Chinese and Iranian foreign ministers announced the implementation stage of the 25-year cooperation agreement.

“The beginning of the implementation of the 25-year agreement is a remarkable milestone of China-Iran cooperation; this is a defining moment since the two countries announced their comprehensive strategic partnership in 2016. Now with this new development, Beijing and Tehran can show countries in the region, and the rest of the world, that the partnership is not just about good wills, but also about actions,” Yilun told Press TV. 

“With more tangible outcomes produced on various fronts under the framework of this agreement, China and Iran can show the world that they are serious about being responsible players in stabilizing and deepening prosperity in Asia,” he added.

Yilun said unilateral American sanctions and the grievances over them have been a driving factor in further pushing the cooperation between China and Iran.

“The direct effect of the implementation of the 25-year agreement is the resuming of Sino-Iranian energy cooperation. China has been one of the big buyers of Iranian oil before the U.S. unilaterally imposed its sanctions on Iran and that will alleviate the situation,” the political analyst said.