Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi has wrapped up a three-day trip to China, a trip that is important from different aspects in the current situation. Raisi’s visit to China comes after two decades which is an important step that can have many potential positive consequences for both countries.
One of the core goals behind this trip was to strengthen economic relations between Iran and China, especially in the energy sector.
Meanwhile, Iran has been looking and hopes to compensate for the impact of sanctions imposed by the US and diversify its export markets by strengthening economic relations with China. Another important goal of this trip was to strengthen political relations between Beijing and Iran.
What was the purpose of Raisi’s trip to China?
President Raisi’s visit to China was an important event that has attracted the attention of everyone. Iran and China have long-standing relations that go back to the centuries. The two sides had in recent years also tried to strengthen their economic and political relations.
Raisi’s trip can be scrutinized from a strategic perspective in a bid to understand its potential implications for Iran and China and the wider region.
Iran and China have maintained diplomatic relations in the past over 50 years, and their relations have evolved significantly in the past few decades.
In the 1980s, China was one of the few countries that supported Iran during the Iran-Iraq war. The support comes while other major powers provided military and economic support to Iraq.
When war ended, China was also the first to continue supporting Iran by investing in the country’s infrastructure, including energy and transportation projects.
China largest trade partner to Iran
In the 2000s, Iran and China strengthened their strategic partnership, and China became Iran’s largest trading partner and major purchaser of Iranian oil.
Today, Iran and China are important economic partners, and China imports significant amounts of oil from Iran and invests in various infrastructure projects in the country.
At the same time, economic relations between China and Iran have been complicated by US sanctions against Iran. The series of sanctions have limited the ability of Iranian companies to do business with Chinese companies operating in the United States.
Despite these challenges, China has continued to support Iran and the two countries recently signed a 25-year strategic partnership agreement. These schemes included cooperation in various economic sectors.
Why did Raisi visit China at this time?
The visit of Raisi to China after two decades is an important step that can have many potential positive consequences for both the countries.
One of the main goals of this trip was to strengthen economic relations between Iran and China, especially in the energy sector as we already touched upon.
Iran is also looking forward to further improving ties with China in order to overcome its economic issues which are increasingly under heavy sanctions by the US and its allies due to acceleration of its nuclear power program.
This is the core reason Iran expects to strengthen relations with China and it will enable Tehran to improve its position in the world and in the region and gain a more powerful ally in its struggle in the regional powers. For China, the visit of Raisi is also an opportunity to strengthen its position in the Middle East and gain a reliable energy supplier.
China focusing on energy and infrastructure projects
China in the past several years has increased its involvement in the Middle East with a special focus on energy and infrastructure projects. Raisi’s visit to China was also significant in the context of the extensive geopolitical competition between the US and China.
China can also challenge US’s dominance in the region by deepening its economic and political relations with Iran.
Meanwhile, Raisi described his visit to China as very successful and fruitful and while addressing reporters upon arrival in Tehran from Raisi said Iran’s foreign policy is to build trust in neighbors and economic convergence in Asia.
He labeled his visit to China as an important step in the field of regional and global commercial issues.
Given that, Raisi called China as one of the world’s largest economies which can play an important role in the field of trade in Asia and around the globe.
Chinese President Mr. Xi also accepted an invitation from Iranian counterpart to visit Iran in order to further improve mutual cooperation in all areas.
*Translated from armanmeli newspaper
