Ali Akbar Velayati, who advises the Leader on international affairs, made the remarks during a meeting with China’s Ambassador to Tehran Cong Peiwu on Sunday.
During the meeting, the two officials discussed the latest regional and international developments.
Velayati stressed the importance of promoting “strategic” relations between Tehran and Beijing, saying, “Iran and China have long, close and sincere cultural and historical relations and have had many positive effects on each other.”
He added that the two countries are determined to further boost cooperation.
“Undoubtedly, the development of relations between Iran, China, and Russia in various fields, including in the Shanghai and BRICS formats, will have lasting and important effects,” the top Iranian official emphasized.
Iran and China signed a landmark 25-year partnership agreement in March 2021 in an attempt to strengthen their long-standing economic and political alliance.
The deal was announced during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Tehran back in 2016. It sets the outlines of China-Iran cooperation in political, cultural, security, defense, regional, and international domains for the next 25 years.
The Chinese ambassador, for his part, said his country attaches great significance to the expansion of relations with Iran and called for strengthening bilateral cooperation.
He added that Iran and China should not allow anything to affect their relations, which are based on mutual respect.
