Some 31% of Iranian exports of non-oil products are destined for China, according to Majidreza Hariri, the chairman of Iran-China Joint Chamber of Commerce, IRNA reported.
Hariri said that the Persian New Year which began on March 21 would be a better year for enhancement of ties between Tehran and Beijing as he noted that significant parts of a 25-year cooperation deal between the two nations would become operational in this year.
He added that delegations from Iran and China are expected to pay visits to Tehran and Beijing after the holy month of Ramadan (April 21).
In a meeting in Tehran on Wednesday with the board members and other members of Iran-China Joint Chamber of Commerce, Chinese ambassador to Tehran Chang Hua said that Beijing is committed to facilitating issuance of visa for Iranians willing to visit exhibitions in the country.
The ambassador put the volume of trade between Iran and China at $15.8 billion in 2022 which he said posted a 7% growth in comparison to that of 2021.
China has been Iran’s top trade partner for 10 years in a row, he said, adding that Beijing welcomes and supports the presence of the Iranian businesspeople in the Chinese trade exhibitions.
More than 80,000 visas were granted to Iranians by the Chinese embassy in Tehran in 2019, Ambassador Chang said. He however noted that with the global outbreak of the coronavirus disease, the number of the Chinese visas issued for Iranian visitors shrank to less than 2,000 in the past three years.
With China emerging from the coronavirus pandemic, a large number of Iranian people are waiting for Chinese visas and the embassy is capable of issuing 150 visas a day, he said.
Also speaking in the meeting, Niloofar Assadi, the caretaker of international affairs of Iran Chamber of Commerce, said that the Iran Chamber of Commerce and the Iran-China Joint Chamber of Commerce expect the Chinese government to prepare the ground for further presence of the Iranian businesspersons in trade activities in China, especially within the framework of the 25-year cooperation deal and the Belt and Road Initiative.
She called for facilitating issuance of Chinese visas for Iranian businesspeople holding recommendation letters from Iran Chamber of Commerce.