TEHRAN – A senior lawmaker has lauded the Iranian president’s visit to China as a “turning point” in Iran’s relations with Asian countries. 

The lawmaker, Abbas Moqtadaei, the deputy chairman of the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said the three-day state visit will result in positive achievements for Iran. 

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi left Tehran for Beijing on Monday evening. 

Commenting on the trip, Moqtadaei said, “After the victory of the Islamic Revolution, Iran, as an emerging power in the West Asia region, has been able to gain significant influence in the Middle East. And as an important supporter of regional security, Iran has been able to play an important role in the process of unification among Asian countries.”

He added, “Ayatollah Raisi was able to direct significant parts of Iran's economy and international trade towards Asian countries by announcing the policy of strengthening diplomatic interaction with neighbors and paying attention to the eastern sector. Iran's official membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is an example of Iran's efforts to strengthen economic diplomacy with its neighbors.”

Moqtadaei called China, India and Russia the great economic powers of Asia and the world. “The development of Iran's interactions with these countries helps to accelerate the circulation of power from the West to the East and is a threat to the end of American unilateralism in the world,” he told the official news agency IRNA. 

He stated, “China has emerged as a superior economy at the global level, and due to its position, it needs Iran's ability and energy, and on the other hand, it can benefit from Iran's energy by developing investment in our country, and this development of relations is beneficial to both sides.”

He assessed the president's visit to Beijing as important for Iran and China. “Iran should be able to make the most of this opportunity by formulating strategic plans for the development of economic relations,” the lawmaker continued.