Iran-China Trade Volume Hits $11.1b Amid Pandemic, Sanctions
IRAN NEWS ECONOMIC DESK
TEHRAN – According to the latest statistics released by General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (GACC), the trade volume between Iran and China has declined 38.5 percent in the first three quarters of the current year comparing to the same period in 2019 due to the sanctions and the outbreak of coronavirus, Tasnim news agency reported.
According to the report, Iran and China’s trade volume fell to $11.19b in the first three quarters of 2020 which shows 38.5 percent slump comparing to the same period in 2019. The trade volume of both countries in 2019 and in the same period was $18.17b.
The report shows that both Iran and China’s exports have shrunk but the decline in China’s imports from Iran has been more than its exports.
China has exported goods worth of $6.62b in the first three quarters of 2020 which shows 8.3 percent fall comparing to the same period in 2019 which was around $7.22b. But China’s imports from Iran has seen a considerable decline of 58.3 percent and has hit $4.57b. The Southeast Asian country had imported goods worth of $10.19b from Iran in the same period in 2019.
The trade balance of both countries has been $2.05b in favor of China.
The slump in the oil price, the U.S. sanctions, decrease in fuel consumption in China and above all the pandemic have been the major factors behind the slump in bilateral trade.
The GACC report shows that China’s trade with the world has witnessed a single digit slump and it has been 1.8 percent while its trade decline with Iran has been a double digit figure.
Comparing the statistics, one can easily find that China’s trade with Iran, comparing to its other trade partners, has insignificant and Iran’s share of China’s trade in the first three quarters of 2020 was just 0.34 percent.
China’s trade with the U.S. has been 35 times more than its trade with Iran in the first three quarters of 2020 and it has been around $401b despite the pandemic.
Iran has ranked 49th among China’s trade partners so far this year. The U.S. has accounted for 12 percent of China’s total trade volume in the first three quarters of 2020.
