Iran’s president visits Beijing on first trip to China in 20 years

Asia-Pacific, Middle East, News February 14, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi arrived in Beijing on February 14, 2023, to begin his three-day trip visit that aims to strengthen the economic cooperation between the two Asian countries.

China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying announced that Raisi’s visit was at President Xi Jinping’s invitation. This is the first time in 20 years that an Iranian president is visiting China. According to Iranian state-owned media, Raisi will hold private talks with President Xi Jinping in the capital Beijing, with the pair expected to sign a number of “cooperation documents”.

Raisi and Xi had first met as presidents on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Uzbekistan in September 2022. Iran at that time was not a full member of the SCO, however, with Beijing’s support Iran has now become a full member of the organization.

Raisi is accompanied by six members of his cabinet including ministers of economy, petroleum, foreign affairs, trade, transport, urban development, and agriculture. He is also accompanied by the new central bank governor, pointing to the economic priorities during the trip.

China is a major buyer of Iranian oil and an important source of investment in the Mideast Eastern country. In 2021, Iran and China signed a 25-year strategic cooperation agreement that covered major economic activities from oil and mining to industry, transportation, and agriculture.

*^{Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi arrived in Beijing on February 14, 2023. (Image Credit: Mohammadreza Alimadadi/IRNA)}*

Raisi’s deputy for political affairs Mohammad Jamshidi told state television in a recent interview that the main goal of the trip is to “finalize the operational mechanisms” of the 25-year comprehensive cooperation agreement the two countries signed in 2021.

Despite buying large amounts of oil from Iran amid the U.S. sanctions, China invested only $162 million in the Iranian economy during President Raisi’s first year in office which started in August 2021. China’s investment in Iran is far lesser than in Turkey and even Afghanistan. China, nevertheless, remains Iran’s largest trade partner.

The Iranian president is also accompanied by Ali Bagheri Kani, the country’s top nuclear negotiator, who has been holding talks with the West aimed at restoring the accord. The talks, which began in early 2021, however, remain deadlocked.

Kani’s presence in Beijing indicates that Iran seeks to reopen the talks. China is a signatory of Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers which also includes Russia, the U.S., the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. The deal was unilaterally abandoned by Washington in 2018.

Iran has recently celebrated the 44th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution amid nationwide anti-government protests and heightened tensions with the West. Raisi’s first visit to China comes days after he declared victory over the nationwide protest movement triggered by the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini following her arrest for an alleged breach of Iran’s dress code for women.