Tehran, Shanghai Explore New Ways to Boost Trade Ties
Tehran, Shanghai Explore New Ways to Boost Trade Ties
Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mine and Agriculture (TCCIMA) and China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Shanghai (CCPIT) in a webinar on joint trade explored reviewed opportunities and capacities for promoting and expansion of economic ties between Iran and China and especially with Shanghai Zone.

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Tehran, Shanghai Explore New Ways to Boost Trade Ties. Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mine and Agriculture (TCCIMA) and China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Shanghai (CCPIT) in a webinar on joint trade explored reviewed opportunities and capacities for promoting and expansion of economic ties between Iran and China and especially with Shanghai Zone.

In the webinar which was held on Tuesday, the participants explored ways for broadening economic cooperation between Iran and China and especially with Shanghai. During the webinar, Head of TCCIMA Ms. Masoud Khansari raised some suggestions for expansion of economic and commercial ties between Iran and China and Head of CCPIT Mr. Zhou Minhao also announced the launch of the platform for Shanghai virtual exhibition with cooperation of the e-trade website of Alibaba Company and support of Shanghai Municipality, and stipulated that the platform can be innovative ways for expansion of cooperation between Iranian economic enterprises with Shanghai.

Addressing the webinar, Khansari pointed to the unilateral and unfair sanctions of the U.S. against Iran and some other countries like China, and called for taking a new and effective strategy for regulating relations between the aligned countries. He also pointed to the 25-year cooperation agreement between Iran and China and noted that this opportunity should be used as a foundation for the infrastructural cooperation between the two states for long cooperation in the future. Khansari also underscored the development of ties between Iran and China under the project of One Belt and One Road, adding that the private sector and especially the TCCIMA have plans on its agenda to concentrate on interactions with China’s provinces like Shanghai.

Khansari also said the chamber is keen for the launch of a permanent connection channel between TCCIMA and CCPIT for expansion of ties and emphasized the exchange of the website links of these two private sector bodies of the two states for an easy and safe access of economic activists and traders of the both countries.

He also called for activating the joint arbitration committee between the two countries which has been agreed by the both sides and called it a necessity. He further said that the draft for MoU on cooperation between TCCIMA and CCPIT has been prepared and reminded that this cooperation document will be a new opportunity for enhancing improvement of the level of cooperation between the two countries.

Then Zhou Minhao, for his part, said that Iran and China will celebrate their 50th anniversary of their diplomatic ties this year and expansion of the One Belt and One Road project by China is a proof for China’s strategies of open doors and reciprocal benefits, reiterating that this has provided a valuable opportunity for cooperation enterprises worldwide and especially Iran.

Zhou also pointed to China’s policy during the COVID-19 pandemic era, saying that holding international exhibition on import and export in Shanghai is one of the policies of the country, adding that the launch of platform for Shanghai virtual exhibition is another step for easing the ties of the trade communities from different countries like Iran with Shanghai Economic Zone. Then he pointed to some facilities and services that the CCPIT can provide to the economic enterprises and called for growing cooperation between the CCPIT and TCCIMA.

Then Iran’s counselor in Shanghai Mr. Ramezan Parvaz, for his part, revealed the decline in trade volume between Iran and Shanghai and said in 2019, the trade volume between Iran and Shanghai was $2.321b as Iran’s exports accounted for $1.416b of the total amount and Shanghai’s share was $905m. He added the figure faced 13 percent decline in 2020 as the bilateral trade of Iran and Shanghai slumped to below $2b.

He noted that one of the problems ahead of economic ties of the two countries is the transfer of money and called for finding a solution for this woe.