TEHRAN – Iranian President Masudo Pezeshkian describes Iran’s relationship with the Islamic Republic and the Republic of China as “strategic,” emphasizing that Tehran is Beijing’s trustworthy partner in political, economic and international fields.
Chair of Wednesday’s coordination meeting, reviewing bilateral cooperation and preparing for a visit to the state to China, Pezeshkian emphasized Iran’s geopolitical weight in regional and global stages. He said the Islamic Republic is eager to pursue “serious and constructive cooperation” with China. In particular, the advancement of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a multi-trillion dollar project launched in 2013, seeking to improve transportation infrastructure linked to China, Asia and Africa. He added that all other areas of cooperation can be assembled within the scope of that initiative.
The senior officials and ministers attending the meeting discussed key areas of Iran-China relations, considered the status of existing contracts and projects, and proposed measures to accelerate implementation.
Mehdi Sanai, the president’s political advisor, will see Pezeshkian travel to China on August 31, attend two major meetings, attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit and the “Shanghai Plus” meeting, bringing together representatives from over 30 countries. His agenda also includes meetings with President Xi Jinping and bilateral meetings with several other world leaders.
Separately, sources confirmed that Peshshkian, along with Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, participated in the China’s Victory Day Parade on September 3, marking the 79th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II. According to Reuters, it will be the first joint release between Putin and Kim alongside President Vladimir Putin and Western Presidents.
China’s Foreign Ministry said 26 foreign leaders are expected to attend the parade. With the exception of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, no Western leaders are involved. Other confirmed attendees include Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Indonesian President Prabowo Suboant, Serbian President Alexander Vicicz and South Korea’s National Assembly Speaker Woo Wong Sik. UN Secretary General Li Junhua represents the world’s body.
The Victory Day Parade has become one of China’s biggest in recent years, but will showcase advanced military hardware such as fighter jets, missile defense systems and high-sonic weapons.
China is Iran’s biggest trading partner. Both states are subject to different levels of illegal sanctions imposed by the United States.
The two countries signed a long-term strategic partnership agreement in March 2021 to strengthen their long-standing economic and political alliances.
On Tuesday, Iran’s Transport Minister said the country would soon finalise its contract with China for a high-speed rail project linking the capital Tehran to the second largest city of Mashhad. Farzaneh Sadegh said the Chinese investors in the project will sign a contract with the Tehran Mashhad High Speed Railway project during Iranian visit to Beijing next week.