SULAIMANI (ESTA) — The Chinese and Iranian foreign ministers signed a 25-year cooperation agreement between the two allies in a ceremony on Saturday, state television reported.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Iran on Friday for signing the agreement between the two countries, which are both under U.S. sanctions.
“our relations with Iran will not be affected by the current situation, but will be permanent and strategic,” Iranian newsy agency quoted Wang as saying, according to Reuters.
“Iran decides independently on its relations with other countries and is not like some countries that change their position with one phone call.”
Wang met President Hassan Rouhani ahead of the signing of the agreement, which is expected to include Chinese investments in key sectors such as energy and infrastructure, Reuters reported.
Reuters cited Iranian energy spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh as saying the document was a “roadmap” for trade, economic and transportation cooperation, with a “special focus on the private sectors of the two sides.”
In 2016, China, Iran’s largest trading partner and long-time ally, agreed to boost bilateral trade by more than 10 times to $600 billion in the next decade.
Iran is hardening its stance towards the United States and the European parties to Tehran’s 2015 nuclear accord with world powers.
On Thursday, China’s commerce ministry said Beijing will make efforts to safeguard the Iran nuclear deal and defend the legitimate interests of Sino-Iranian relations.
U.S. President Joe Biden has sought to revive talks with Iran on the nuclear deal abandoned by former President Donald Trump in 2018, although harsh economic measures remain in place that Tehran insists be lifted before any negotiations resume.
The United States and the other Western powers that joined the 2015 deal appear at odds with Tehran over which side should return to the accord first, making it unlikely that U.S. sanctions which have crippled Iran’s economy can be quickly removed.
*This story was updated at 02:59 p.m. EBL time
