The meeting was held between Iranian Chamber of Cooperatives Chairman Bahman Abdullahi and Chinese Ambassador to Iran Kong Peiwu.
Both sides emphasized the long-standing strategic partnership between Tehran and China and explored new avenues for cooperation between cooperative enterprises of the two countries.
Abdullahi pointed out that Iran’s cooperative sector, which has more than 104,000 active cooperatives, is not affected by foreign sanctions and can be a reliable channel for economic engagement with friendly countries such as China. He proposed the establishment of a joint committee to coordinate joint projects, trade missions and specialized exhibitions in Tehran and Beijing.
He also highlighted the potential for cooperation in modern irrigation, seed and vaccine production, animal feed technology, as well as mineral processing and petrochemical industries.
Abdullahi added that the current trade value between Iran and China is approximately $14 billion, but with existing capabilities, that amount could increase significantly through enhanced cooperation and industrial partnerships.
In early October, Majid Reza Hariri, president of the Iran-China Joint Chamber of Commerce, commented on the scope of the impact of UN Security Council sanctions on Iran-China relations, stating, “Given that none of the UN sanctions are trade-related, but instead relate to the nuclear industry and parts of the country’s missile industry, they should therefore not affect normal trade with China.”
He added: “While US sanctions completely prohibited oil sales, we now see that China buys nearly 90% of the country’s oil. Therefore, UN sanctions have nothing to do with the commercial sector and logically should not affect this type of relationship either.”
Hariri added: “UN sanctions have psychological and secondary effects that need to be considered.”
As previously announced by Abolfazl Akbarpour, Deputy Director-General for Planning and International Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Authority (IRICA), non-oil trade between Iran and China reached $34.1 billion in the past Iranian calendar year ending March 20, 2025.
He said the country imports $14.8 billion worth of non-oil products from Iran, and China was the first export destination for Iranian products in the past year.
He also announced that in the same year, China became Iran’s second largest source of imports by exporting $19.3 billion worth of non-oil products to Iran.
MNA/TT