China has said that it will begin implementing a strategic agreement with Iran to strengthen economic and political cooperation between the two countries.
China and Iran have signed the agreement last year after years of talks with the wide-ranging partnership set to expand to areas such as energy, security, infrastructure and communications.
Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi and Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian announced the implementation of the partnership will start at a meeting in east China’s Wuxi, Beijing’s foreign ministry stated.
The foreign ministers agreed to cooperate in sectors like energy, infrastructure, production capacity, science and technology, and medical and health care.
Bilateral cooperation will also be expanded to agriculture, fisheries, cybersecurity, and the third-party market, as well as people-to-people and cultural exchanges in education, film and personnel training, said the statement.
In Beijing after the meeting with the Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, Amirabdollahian said the two countries have made adequate arrangements to set the agreement in motion, declaring it as one of the important achievements of the meet.
China also reaffirmed its opposition to unilateral sanctions by the United States against Iran.
What are US-Iran problems?
Several countries in the world, mainly the US, had placed sanctions on Iran for developing allegedly illegal nuclear weapons in the past. The United States, in particular, had placed sweeping economic, trade, scientific and military sanctions against the country since 1979.
In 2015, however, the US, China, Russia, the UK, France and Germany agreed to lift sanctions if Iran curtailed its nuclear programme.
However, after the US withdrawal from the deal in May 2018, followed by the reinstatement of sanctions, the Iran-China agreement was also put on the hold.
Continuing talks in Vienna aimed at restoring Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers were also high on the agenda during the Iranian foreign minister’s visit.
The $400 billion agreement between Tehran and Beijing was signed on March 27, 2021, by the then Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and Wang, during Wang’s visit to Tehran.
China-Iran Strategic Deal
The agreement includes economic and cultural interaction between the countries and also creates the way for Iran’s participation in the Belt and Road initiative, which is a massive infrastructure project stretching from East Asia to Europe.
The project aims to significantly expand China’s economic and political influence and has raised concerns in the United States and other states.
The Chinese foreign ministry said the agreement would deepen Sino-Iranian cooperation in areas including energy, infrastructure, agriculture, culture, as well as cyber security and cooperation with other countries.
The agreement was signed in 2016 when Chinese leader Xi Jinping visited Iran soon after inking a nuclear deal between Iran and the world powers.
After the meeting, Amirabollahian told reporters Iran will be ready to come to an agreement in the Austrian capital in the shortest time, a task that will be made possible with the support of China and Russia.
