At the invitation of President Xi, President Raisi will pay a state visit to China next week from Tuesday to Thursday, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying stated.
Back in March 2021, Iran and China signed a 25-year comprehensive strategic partnership deal to strengthen their long-standing economic and political alliance. It aims to boost economic cooperation between the two countries and paves the way for Iran’s participation in the Belt and Road Initiative, a massive infrastructure project stretching from East Asia to Europe.
Iran and China have enjoyed close ties in recent years, particularly after the United States reinstated sanctions on the Iranian economy in 2018 after unilaterally withdrawing from the Iran nuclear agreement.
The US has increasingly targeted Chinese companies over cooperation with Iran as the prospects of reviving the agreement have dimmed due to Washington’s refusal to fully honor the deal.
China is still Iran’s biggest oil client despite Washington’s bid to bring Tehran’s exports down to zero.
