China is to prioritize its energy and financial cooperation with Iran, as the nuclear deal means there is now even more opportunity to work together, Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) told Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
China and Iran have close diplomatic, economic, trade and energy ties, and Beijing has been active in pushing both the US and Iran to reach agreement on the nuclear issue.
According to the multilateral deal, agreed to in July, sanctions imposed by the US, EU and UN will be lifted in return for Iran agreeing to long-term curbs on a nuclear program that the West has suspected was aimed at creating a nuclear bomb.
Meeting in New York on the sidelines of a UN summit, Xi told Rouhani that once the nuclear agreement is put in force “Iran will have ever more opportunity for foreign cooperation, and Sino-Iran ties will face a new development opportunity,” the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
China wants increased cooperation in the fields of railways, roads, iron and steel, auto manufacturing, electricity and high tech, Xi said.
“[We] must prioritize energy and financial cooperation,” he added, without elaborating.
China is the biggest customer of Iranian oil.
Last week, a senior Chinese envoy offered Iran help to upgrade its manufacturing technology to boost its economy.
China had long railed against unilateral sanctions imposed on Iran by the US and Europe, though it has supported UN ones, and had denounced threats of force.
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