TEHRAN – Following the recent official visit of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to China the two countries have taken new steps for the development of ties in economic areas including trade and energy, IRNA reported.

Heading a high-ranking delegation, President Raisi arrived at Beijing International Airport Tuesday morning local time and was welcomed by China’s Minister of Culture and Tourism Hu Heping.

Later that day Raisi officially met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in a ceremony held at the headquarters of the National People's Congress of China in Beijing.

During President Raisi’s stay, Iranian and Chinese officials inked 20 documents of cooperation in various fields including crisis management, tourism, communication and information technology, environment, international trade, intellectual property, agriculture, export, healthcare, media, sports, and cultural heritage.

Chinese markets open to Iran agricultural, dairy products

Iran's Agriculture Minister Javad Sadati-Nejad, who accompanied President Raisi on his visit to China, said that the Chinese president is interested in Iranian agricultural, food, and dairy products, and such products can conquer China’s one-billion markets more than ever.

Speaking to IRNA on Tuesday, Sadati-Nejad referred to signing a number of cooperation documents in the agriculture field with China, adding, "Today three agriculture documents were signed with China, two of which is about exporting Iranian dairy products to China and one is on exporting apples to that country."

The agriculture minister also referred to exporting citrus fruits, honey, and fish to China during President Raisi's tenure, arguing that the Iranian agricultural products are now conquering the large Chinese markets.

"The agreements in the agricultural field between Iran and China had been finalized during the previous months' negotiations; in order to boost production we need to mechanize our agriculture and focus on the value chains, as well as the food processing industries, research in inquiries, and China is ready for making investments in Iran in those fields," he added.

Development in investment ties

Iranian Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Ehsan Khandouzi, who was also among the president’s companions, has referred to the meeting between the presidents of the two countries and expressed hope that this meeting will lead to tangible growth in economic exchanges and mutual investment between the two countries in the coming years.

NIOC, Sinopec in talks for Yadavaran oilfield phase 2

The director of investment and business of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) has also said that NIOC has held regular negotiations with China's Sinopec Company regarding the second phase of the Yadavaran oil field’s development project.

In an interview with Shana, Fereydoun Kurd-Zanganeh said, “Despite the sanctions, NIOC, in line with the strategic document of long-term cooperation between Iran and China, continues to negotiate with the private and state companies of this country for the development of Yadavaran field and other joint fields in Iran.”

He noted that the first phase of Yadavaran oil field was already completed by Sinopec in 2015 with a capacity of 110,000 barrels per day and is productive.

“According to the negotiations with this company, the second phase of the development of this joint field was also planned to be handed over to this company, but unfortunately, at that time, the former oil minister stopped the negotiations, therefore, in the past year, NIOC has conducted regular negotiations with Chinese companies in the development of oil and gas fields.”

The investment and business manager of NIOC emphasized that Sinopec has not yet announced in any way that it will not cooperate in the development of Yadavaran field, adding: “The officials negotiating with this company at NIOC are looking for new ways to use the investment opportunity in Yadavaran Oilfield.”

Iran-China trade can be tripled

Mentioning the visit of President Raisi to China, Majid-Reza Hariri, the president of the Iran-China Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industries, has said that considering the opportunities presented by the two countries' 25-year strategic agreement, the trade between Iran and China can be increased by three-fold.

“In the worst conditions created by sanctions, our trade with the Chinese reached about 24 billion dollars, and we can increase this figure by at least three times, Hariri said.

Member of the International Relations and Trade Development Committee of the Iranian House of Industry, Mining, and Trade Ruhollah Latifi has also said that China was Iran’s top trade partner in the first 10 months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21, 2022-January 20, 2023) with 29.2 million tons of goods worth $25.3 billion being exchanged between the two sides.

EF/MA