TEHRAN – Mohammad Bagher Zolqadr, the secretary of Iran’s Expediency Council, has received a Chinese delegation led by Chen Gang, a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. 

In this meeting, Zolqadr praised the 25-year strategic partnership plan between Iran and China, saying that with this plan, Iran and China are in the best state of interactions and relations with each other.

They discussed a variety of issues related to Iran-China relations. The Iranian official said that based on historical evidence and documents, the history of relations between the two civilizations of Iran and China is more than 2200 years.

Referring to the exchange of visits between the Expediency Council and the Chinese ruling party, Zolqadr said, “These interactions can strengthen the relations between the two countries.”

He also referred to the tenth anniversary of the establishment of relations between the Council and the Chinese ruling party. “The recent visit of the high-ranking delegation of the Council to China indicates the promotion and development of cooperation between the two countries. The presence of this delegation and the visit of the International Minister of the Communist Party of China to Iran in the near future can also be effective in the development of relations between the two countries,” he said, according to IRNA. 

Zolqadr added, “We believe that the experiences of a decade of relations between us should be used to develop the interactions between these two institutions.”

Referring to a recent visit by a delegation from the Council to China, the Iranian official said, “In this trip, emphasis was put on recognizing China's ‘development model’ and ‘governance’ and using the experiences of the two countries in ‘development’ and ‘governance’, which requires follow-up.”

The secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council emphasized the effective role of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the “One Road - One Belt” plan and China's “Global Development” initiative.

Zolqadr also pointed to the exchange of experiences of the two countries on issues such as fighting corruption, alleviating poverty, confronting American unilateralism, and finding solutions to counter the sanctions.

“We emphasize that these issues should be put on the joint agenda and the research institutes and think tanks of the two institutions should improve their cooperation in these fields,” he continued. 

Gang, for his part, expressed satisfaction with his visit to Iran. “This is the first trip I have made to Iran and the hospitality and the brilliant and ancient civilization of Iran have been interesting for me and my companions.

He mentioned the visit of a delegation from the Council to China in 2018 and the visit of members of this delegation to Qinghai Province. “In this province, archaeologists have found a historical coin related to the Sassanid dynasty. The discovery of these historical monuments from the 8th century AD shows the long-standing relations between China and Iran and exchanges on the Silk Road. Of course, in the past fifty years, the relations between Iran and China have overcome many challenges, and today both sides are stressing the development and deepening of relations,” the Chinese official continued. 

Chen Gang added, “I thank and appreciate Iran's firm support for China's territorial integrity, and China has always supported Iran's national sovereignty.”

He also called for deepening business ties and welcomed the restoration of ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

“We are ready to expand our business relations with Iran. We welcome Iran's official membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and Iran's presence in the BRICS organization, and we support the process of dialogue and diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia and the development of trade relations between neighboring countries and Asian nations.”

He added, “Managers, industrialists and businessmen of Qinghai Province are trying to have a special role and position in the development of Iran.”

Chen Gang stated, “For the Communist Party and the International Ministry of this party, relations with the Expediency Discernment Council are of great importance, and we will also follow up on the issues you mentioned and because of their extreme importance.”