iran-china deal Archives - Iran News Daily

Chinese Expected to Invest $80b in Iran’s Mining Sector

mahla — Sun, 11 Apr 2021 05:51:47 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Head of Mines and Mining Industry Commission of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mine and Agriculture (ICCIMA) says the Chinese are interested to have $400b investment in different sectors in Iran and it is expected $80b to be invested in the mining sector.

Speaking to ILNA, Bahram Shakouri expressed his views on Iran-China 25-Year Document and its impacts on the mining sector and said there are different views on the Chinese investment in the mining sector. He added some believe this agreement will cause damage for the country but I believe that foreign investment can help the country grow and excel, noting that if Iran can have a good cooperation with other countries especially with a country like China, it will help it.

He pointed to the scale of investment by the Chinese in the mining sector, saying that what is seen in the document shows that the Chinese are interested to have $400b investment in different fields in Iran of which $80b will be in the mines and mining industry. Shakouri reiterated the amount of investment in Iran’s mines and mining sector since Reza Shah has hardly touched $50b.

He reiterated that even this small amount of investment in the mining sector has led to creation of job, development, production and exports, admitting that $80b is a very considerable amount.

Shakouri said this amount of investment as well as other investments in other fields like infrastructures, transportation, developing ports can have very good results for the country. He added that perhaps the concerns of people about this agreement is that those countries which have attracted investment from China have not been happy and there are also some concerns about finalizing these agreements.

He reiterated that if the Chinese sign deals with the private sector, then the private sector because of its own interest will not risk and as the result it will meet the national interests.

Shakouri reiterated that ICCIMA, Majlis and all bodies in the country are working hard on the agreement in order that it meet the national demands, reiterating that the contracts should be a win-win ones as both the Chinese and Iranians can benefit them and one cannot expect only the two parties just benefits the agreements.

Responding to a question on the investment of the Chinese in Iran’s mining sector till now, he said due to sanctions, foreigners and even the Chinese have not have significant investments in this sector and due to sanctions they preferred to buy mining products and China’s investment has not been considerable.

Shakouri noted that this document can help more capital to enter Iran’s mining sector, adding that Iran has huge capacities in this industry which has attraction for investment.

He said all should have positive approach to this document but at the same time we should increase our vigilance that the agreements are signed in a way that both parties benefit them.

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Iran-China Deal Needs No Approval in Majlis

mahla — Thu, 08 Apr 2021 06:51:59 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Finance minister says an economic partnership agreement signed with China last month would be effective without any need to win the approval of the Iranian parliament.

Farhad Dejpassand said on Tuesday that the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Iran and China is a broad document that sets out a framework for cooperation between private sectors of the two countries for the next 25 years.

“It is a strategic document focused on cooperation between the two countries’ private sectors and does not need the approval of the Islamic Consultative Assembly,” said Dejpassand in remarks made after a meeting in the Iranian parliament.

The minister said, however, that any specific contract signed within the framework of the Iran-China deal that could affect relations between the two governments would need to obtain the parliament endorsement before it goes into effect.

He said implementing the current document without the approval of the parliament would not be a violation of articles 77 and 125 of the Iranian constitution, as stipulated by some members of the parliament.

“We explained (to the parliament) that this document does qualify as a contract or a convention and is merely a document that sets out the size of interactions between the two countries,” said Dejpassand.

After some five years of negotiations, foreign ministers of Iran and China signed off on the economic partnership agreement in Tehran on March 27.

The deal has sparked widespread concerns in the West about the formation of a stronger alliance between Iran and China that could harm the interests of the United States and allies in Asia and in the Middle East region.

China has committed to over $400 billion worth of investment in Iran’s energy and infrastructure sectors under the deal. Iran, in return, would guarantee to provide a stable supply of crude and energy products to China over the period of the agreement.

Dejpasand also said that Iran has attracted $6.2b of foreign investment in the heat of the maximum sanction pressure and the outbreak of the COVID-19 which is praiseworthy. He added that with the possible openings and resolving sanctions problems, the duty of Organization for investment, Economic and Technical Assistance of Iran will be tough this year.

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Iran-China agreement : a roadmap for mutual prosperity

mahla — Sun, 04 Apr 2021 11:32:32 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – The agreement which will significantly expand the two countries’ economic cooperation is seen to be a great blow to Washington’s efforts for isolating the Islamic Republic of Iran’s economy and therefore has raised concerns in the United States.
Since the signing of the deal on March 27, a wave of negative press has been created around the issue both on news platforms and on social media.
The agreement is claimed to be a deal based on which Iran is giving China great power and authority over the country’s resources and the Chinese will soon become a stakeholder in most of Iran’s important industries.
The above-mentioned claims are just part of the efforts made by the U.S. and its allies for discrediting and sabotaging an agreement which seems to be a big threat to American unilateralism in the region.
The question, however, is how much the mentioned claims are true? And does this agreement really jeopardize Iran’s integrity and interests in any way? To answer these questions some major aspects of this comprehensive agreement should be looked into in more detail.
To add to our body of knowledge in this regard, the Tehran Times conducted interviews with economists and board members of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) Ali Shams Ardakani and Kaveh Zargaran.
The first and most important issue that should be taken into consideration with regard to the Iran-China comprehensive agreement is the fact that it is not a “deal” in the sense of an economic or political contract, this means that no price or value has been set in any aspects of the agreement and no strict obligations are defined.
In other words, the agreement is just a roadmap that outlines the framework of the two countries’ cooperation in various areas over the next 25 years.
Regarding the advantages of this accord for Iran, the first issue would be the huge impact that the strategic accord can have on Iran’s political stance during the nuclear talks with world powers.
In a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi prior to the signing ceremony in Tehran, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said: “Cooperation between the two countries is very important for the implementation of the nuclear accord and the fulfillment of obligations by European countries.”
So clearly the U.S. whose interests are on the line here would be against Iran forging alliance with other world powers like China.
The agreement which is expected to include Chinese investments in Iran in a variety of sectors including oil, gas, petrochemical, renewables and energy infrastructure will also bring the Islamic Republic into China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a multi-trillion-dollar infrastructure scheme intended to stretch from East Asia to Europe; this means that Iran’s political and strategic stance in the region will become stronger.
Another significant aspect of the accord is its focus on the promotion and development of the cooperation between the two countries’ private sectors.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said earlier that the agreement was a “road map” for trade and economic and transportation cooperation, with a special focus on both countries’ private sectors.
Considering the fact that currently a lot of the Iranian private sector’s problems are due to the lack of funding for productive projects, Chinese investment in such areas could be a great opportunity for Iran’s productive sector to thrive.
In this regard, Ali Shams Ardakani, ICCIMA’s chairman of the Macroeconomics Committee, told the Tehran Times that the Iran-China accord is a great opportunity for Iran to merge local and foreign investments in order to rise among the world’s top economies.
According to Ardakani, one of the most important issues that should be taken into consideration while assessing the benefits or disadvantages of the strategic accord with China is the quality of the deals that are going to be signed in the future under the framework of this comprehensive agreement.
“For analyzing different aspects of the accord, we must analyze the conditions based on which the agreements concluded under this comprehensive document will be signed,” he said.
“If these contracts lead to the development of the country’s infrastructure and increase investment in productive areas, they should be supported by the government and people.”
Ardakani suggested that a headquarter comprising of high-ranking national entities should be established in order to make the necessary decisions and choices with regard to the companies and organizations that are going to be partnered up with the Chinese side in the future.
The ICCIMA board member believes that the accord should not become a tool for political parties inside the country and the government’s focus should be merely on guarding the national interests.
Also, according to the Head of ICCIMA’s Internal Trade Committee Kaveh Zargaran, China can be a financial channel through which Iranian companies could conduct business despite the U.S. sanctions.
In the political sense too, this agreement is drafted with the aim of promoting regional and international peace, stability, and development, and therefore is not intended to oppose any third party or to interfere in the affairs of any other country.

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