Raisi, Xi stress joint Iran-China resolve to speed up strategic cooperation

In a phone conversation on Friday, which lasted an hour, President Ebrahim Raisi of Iran and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, exchanged views on major regional developments and bilateral relations.

Raisi slammed US interference in the domestic affairs of other countries and said such an approach was in line with Washington’s “destructive policy of unilateralism, which is now posing a threat to regional peace and security.”

One of Iran’s principle policies is to respect other countries’ national sovereignty and territorial integrity, said Raisi, thus renewing Iran’s firm support for the ‘One China’ policy.

Raisi also referred to the talks on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal, to which China is also a party, saying it is necessary for the US, as the party that violated the agreement, to removal all the unlawful sanctions on Iran and third parties.

The Iranian chief executive also welcomed an expansion of multilateral cooperation within regional and trans-regional frameworks such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the BRICS.

Raisi and Xi expressed satisfaction with growing Iran-China relations and a jump in the volume of trade between the two sides over the past year, exploring ways to speed up the implementation of their 25-year strategic partnership deal.

For his part, Xi praised deepening cooperation between the two countries in the global field and the fact that the two countries mutually support one another in regional and international arenas.

The Chinese leader emphasized the need to protect regional stability and highlighted Iran’s constructive role in this regard.

He reaffirmed China’s opposition to the US policy of pressure and unilateralism in dealing with other countries.

Xi also laid emphasis on the strategic significance of Iran-China ties and said his country was determined to promote key cooperation between the two sides in the fields of economy, trade, infrastructure and energy.

The implementation of the 25-year agreement will be big step in that regard, said the Chinese president, adding that he will issue an order for an all-out expansion of strategic relations with Iran in the economic sphere.