Iran’s commercial exchanges with its biggest trading partner, China, hit $8.66 billion from January to July to register a 40.9% decline compared with the corresponding period of 2019.
According to data provided by the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China, Iran’s exports to China stood at $3.54 billion during the period under review, indicating a 61.5% year-on-year drop.
In return, China exported $5.13 billion worth of commodities to Iran to register a 6.3% YoY decrease.
Bilateral trade in June stood at $1.28 billion. Iran’s exports to China accounted for $403.51 million of the sum while imports stood at $876.13 million.
Iran's trade with China in 2019 stood at $23.02 billion to register a decline of 34.3% compared to 2018. It exported $13.43 billion worth of commodities to China last year, 36.3% less compared to the year before. In return, China exported $9.59 billion worth of goods to Iran, down 31.2% YoY.
The chart shows how Iran-China trade has been impacted by US sanctions.
The decline in Iran-China trade is mainly due to the outbreak of the new coronavirus, but the two sides are taking measures to boost their trade turnover back to its pre-coronavirus levels.
The Iranian Cabinet approved the final draft of a 25-year roadmap for Iran-China strategic relations earlier in June.
The primary purpose of the plan is to promote bilateral strategic cooperation at regional and international levels using a win-win approach.