TEHRAN (Iran News) – Chairman of Iran-China Joint Chamber of Commerce Majid Reza Hariri believes the trade between Iran and China can be doubled but it hinges on the result of the Vienna talks and removal of sanctions.
Speaking t ILNA, Hariri said that if Vienna talks bear fruit and sanctions on Iran are lifted, the trade capacity of the country with China is at least two times more than the current level. Touching upon the outlook of the trade between Iran and China this year, he said that if the current situation remains and no certain development happens, the current trend of trade with China will continue because Iran’s trade is under sanctions. He added if some changes happen this year, they will be for short time and the rise in the crude oil market will actually lead to the rise in the trade volume of Iran and China but it will have no significant change in terms of weight.
He went on to say that last year, Iran’s trade with China saw 38% rise in terms of value but it was less than 7% in weight because major non-oil export of Iran to the world and especially to China is crude oil. He noted since the value of petrochemical and mineral products are day in day facing price hike, it affects the value of Iran’s exports to China.
He admitted that the amount of crude exports to China is more than to any country, adding that raw materials account for 92% of Iran’s exports to China while exports to other countries like Iraq and Afghanistan are not merely crude oil and other products are also exported.
Hariri stated that the trade volume of Iran and China was around $24b last year while it was around $17b in the preceding year but despite this rise in value, there was no considerable rise in weight and the rise was mainly because of the rise in the price of crude or products.
On the effect of Vienna talks on Iran-China Trade relation, he said that if sanctions are lifted, Iran’s trade capacity is in a way that it will be able to double the current trade exchange with China and Tehran can witness fast growth in its trade with China otherwise the condition will not change.
Hariri went on to say that in 2016 when China’s President visited Tehran, both countries set the target of $600b bilateral trade in ten years and it means the annual trade would be $60b but due to sanctions, both sides failed to reach even half of the set target but if sanctions are removed, the bilateral trade with China can even exceed $60b per year.
He admitted that implementation of the 25-year cooperation document is waiting for the result of the Vienna talks as both sides have started the early stages for implementing their joint projects but the issue of finance awaits the sanctions removal. Therefore we should wait for the result of the talks, he noted.
Hariri also said that Iran-China Joint Chamber’s office is to be launched in China which will help the trade between the two countries to increase and some talks are underway for the launch of a permanent exhibition of Iranian goods in China.
