TEHRAN - The China Customs has announced that the trade exchanges between Iran and China stood at more than $4.0 billion from January to March 2024.

According to the latest data released by China Customs, trade between Iran and China in the first three months of 2024 amounted to $4.2 billion, marking a one percent increase compared to the same period last year.

The exchanges between Iran and China in the first quarter of 2023 were announced to be $3.9 billion.

China exported $2.7 billion worth of products to Iran and imported over $1.2 billion from Iran from January to March 2024, representing a three percent decrease and a 10 percent year-over-year increase, respectively.

Analysts believe that China's imports from Iran may be even higher than $829 million, as the purchase of Iranian oil by Chinese refiners is not included in the official statistics of the country's imports from Iran.

According to China's Customs data, the value of trade between Iran and China in 2023 exceeded $14.6 billion, registering a 6.2 percent decline compared to 2022.

Based on the mentioned data, the two countries exchanged $14.650 billion worth of products in 2023, while the value of trade between the two countries stood at $15.5 billion in 2022.

Iran’s exports to China in December 2023 registered a 30-percent growth compared to the same period a year earlier.

China exported $10.70 billion worth of products to Iran from January to December 2023, indicating an 8.6 percent growth.

The Asian country exported $9.270 billion worth of products to Iran from January to December 2022.

China’s import of products from Iran fell from $6.230 billion in 2022 to $4.580 billion in 2023, showing a 27 percent decline.

The balance of trade exchanges between the two countries reached about $5.5 billion in 2023 in favor of China.

China is one of Iran’s main trade partners that has maintained strong trade ties with the Islamic Republic despite the strict U.S. sanctions.

The two countries signed a document for 25-year comprehensive cooperation in March 2021.

The document was signed between Iran’s former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

Iran’s Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Ehsan Khandouzi said the 25-year strategic partnership plan between Iran and China has entered a new phase with new agreements being reached between various ministries of the two countries.

According to Khandouzi, the mentioned agreements have been reached between the two sides during the visit of Iran’s delegation to the 6th China International Import Expo (CIIE).

Back in December 2022, Iran and China finalized 16 memorandums of understanding (MOU) under the framework of the two countries’ strategic 25-year agreement.

The MOUs were signed in an Iran-China comprehensive cooperation program summit which was held in Tehran on December 13 in the presence of Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber and China’s Vice Premier Hu Chunhua.

The summit was focused on four areas explored by four committees between the two countries to pave the way for the implementation of the 25-year agreement.

Iran and China also signed 20 memoranda of understanding in the presence of the presidents of the two countries in Beijing in mid-February, 2023.

Heading a high-ranking delegation, Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi was on a three-day state visit to China starting February 14, 2023.

During President Raisi's visit to China, Tehran and Beijing signed several bilateral cooperation documents in the fields of agriculture, trade, tourism, environmental protection, health, disaster relief, culture, and sports.

The documents include agreements in the field of transportation and industry worth $12 billion and $3.5 billion, respectively; the agreements cover various joint projects like the high-speed rail link between Tehran and Mashhad, and investment in the Imam Khomeini Airport City.

Investment in Iran's southeastern Mokran Coast and the purchase of Iranian oil were also mentioned in the documents.

Raisi's visit served as an example of the high level of mutual trust between China and Iran, as well as a milestone for bilateral ties.

Then in mid-July, 2023, the agreements signed between Iran and China during President Raisi’s trip to Beijing in mid-February were turned into specified projects during the two countries’ Joint Cooperation Committee meeting, the Iranian finance and economic affairs minister announced.

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