TEHRAN- Iran is attending China International Import Expo (CIIE) in a bid to increase the export of Iran-made goods and services, also expand economic and trade relations with China.

Running from November 5 to 10, the 7th CIIE has attracted 3,496 exhibitors from 129 countries and regions. It also sets a new record with 297 Fortune Global 500 companies and industry leaders attending the event.

Some Iranian high-ranking officials, from government and private sector, have traveled to Shanghai to visit the CIIE and evaluate the country's needs in various sectors as well as the export potential of Iranian companies in order to develop exports, in addition to examine the existing obstacles in the path of Iranian companies' exports to China, in interaction with Chinese officials and companies, and hold consultations to resolve them.

Mahmoud Najafi-Arab, the head of Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (TCCIMA), who traveled to Shanghai on the head of an Iranian trade delegation, met with some entrepreneurs of the private and state-run sectors of China as well as Iranian businessmen living in eastern China in two different meetings upon arriving in Shanghai to attend the CIIE, and discussed with the Chinese sides the conditions and fields of economic relations development, with the focus of attracting investment in projects in the field of renewable energy, processing and food industries, agricultural products, medicine and medical equipment, housing construction, etc.

As reported by the TCCIMA Public Relations Department, Mohsen Bakhtiar, Iran's ambassador to China, Ali Mohammadi, Iran's consul general in Shanghai, and Mohammad-Ali Dehghan Dehnavi, the head of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO), were also present in these meetings, and discussed the challenges facing the development of Iran-China relations by private sector entrepreneurs.

TCCIMA ready to host Chinese trade delegations

In these meetings, the TCCIMA head announced the readiness of the Tehran Chamber to host trade delegations from China in various fields of production and trade, and emphasized the need for the two sides to get to know each other as much as possible about the capabilities and capacities of the two countries in meeting the needs and also joint investments.

Addressing the inauguration ceremony of Iran’s pavilion in the CIIE, which was also participated by the TPO head and Iran’s ambassador to China, Najafi-Arab said: “This huge commercial event provides a valuable opportunity to introduce the export capacities and capabilities of Iran in various industrial and agricultural fields and to strengthen the economic and commercial relations between Iran and China.”

Pointing out that Iran and China are big trade partners in the region, he said: “Last year, the bilateral trade, excluding oil export, between the two countries reached about 33 billion dollars. This cooperation continues to grow through trade development in various fields including mining, petrochemicals, food, agriculture and new technologies. The figures show the high capacity of the two countries to expand cooperation, but the relations between the two countries can be developed far beyond this. We should use these capacities optimally by increasing delegation exchanges and developing joint projects and carry out commercial and industrial exchanges on a wider level.”

Stating that prominent Chinese companies from the state-run and private sectors have been and are participating in Iran's oil and gas development projects, Najafi-Arab considered this as an indication of China's serious desire to invest in Iran's important economic sectors, and said: “Creating new fields of cooperation in the areas of clean energy, nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, joint production of electric cars, development of digital infrastructure and specialized tourism are among the priorities that can greatly contribute to the development of bilateral relations, and we, as the Tehran Chamber of Commerce, are ready and want to raise cooperation in these fields to a new level.”

The head of the Tehran Chamber added: “In order to strengthen these ties, we propose to create joint economic zones in the form of multilateral consortia, so that by providing tax and customs incentives, new investments will be provided and the level of bilateral cooperation will be increased.”

There are many fields to expand Iran-China trade

Mohammad-Ali Dehghan Dehnavi, the head of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) who also visited Shanghai along with other Iranian officials, said there are many fields to increase the level of trade between Iran and China.

Visiting China International Import Expo, the official said: “This exhibition is an extraordinary initiative of the Chinese government and shows a very ambitious plan for targeted economic development in this country.”

In an interview with Xinhua news agency, on the sidelines of visiting the CIIE, the TPO head said: “Many products that are known by the name of Iran, such as carpets, saffron, and Iranian handicrafts, are displayed in Iran’s pavilion.”

The China International Import Expo (CIIE), the world's first national-level import-themed expo, is being held for the seventh consecutive year in Shanghai, with overseas enterprises gathering to take the pulse of the Chinese market, the China Daily reported.

The previous six editions saw nearly 2,500 new products, technologies and services make their debuts, with combined intended turnover reaching over $420 billion.

The CIIE serves to showcase China's major opening-up measures and confidence, and to share China's new development opportunities with other countries. It has become a platform for high-level opening up and a public good for the whole world.

China has continued to roll out policies to spur foreign trade growth and attract foreign investment, cultivating new international competitive advantages and achieving mutual benefits with other countries.

On October 25, the country issued a guideline to promote the experience in aligning some eligible free trade zones and the Hainan Free Trade Port with high-standard international economic and trade rules.

The eligible FTZs are in Shanghai, Guangdong, Tianjin, Fujian and Beijing. The pilot measures, which will be replicated in other FTZs or even nationwide, cover six aspects: trade in goods, trade in services, digital trade, personnel entry, business environment, and risk prevention and control.

China has built 22 pilot FTZs, covering coastal, inland and border areas, contributing about 20 percent of the country's total foreign investment and import-export volume. Foreign trade of the FTZs expanded by 11.99 percent year on year in the first three quarters of 2024.

Continuous efforts have been made to lower tariffs. In September, China announced it would give all the least developed countries having diplomatic relations with the country zero-tariff treatment for 100 percent tariff lines starting from December 1 this year.

China also keeps rolling out policies to nurture fertile ground for foreign investors. The new edition of the national negative list for foreign investment took effect on Friday, scrapping the two remaining items in the manufacturing industry on the previous list.

The items on the latest negative list, specifying fields off-limits to foreign investors, have been further slashed to 29.

This fully demonstrates China's active willingness to expand mutual benefits and a clear attitude to supporting economic globalization, said Jin Xiandong, an official with the National Development and Reform Commission, adding that further efforts will be made to improve the level of foreign investment liberalization and facilitation, and to optimize service for foreign-invested enterprises.

Besides the manufacturing sector, China is also pushing forward broader and deeper opening up in the service sector.

China announced in September that it would allow the establishment of wholly foreign-owned hospitals in certain cities and regions, including Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Nanjing, Suzhou, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and throughout the island of Hainan.

In October, the country decided to allow foreign investors to operate wholly-owned businesses such as internet data centers and engage in online data processing and transaction processing in certain areas as part of a pilot program to expand opening up in value-added telecom services.

A total of 42,108 new foreign-invested firms were established across China in the first nine months of 2024, up 11.4 percent year on year. Notably, foreign direct investment inflows into medical equipment and instrument manufacturing surged 57.3 percent, while inflows into computer and office device manufacturing grew by 29.2 percent during this period.

Photo: TCCIMA Head Mahmoud Najafi Arab delivers speech in the inauguration of Iran’s pavilion in CIIE, in the presence of TPO head and Iran’s ambassador to China