Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says his country is in talks with several regional countries to do business in national currencies.
The Iranian president has said that his country is prepared to facilitate business opportunities for the economic activities of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation businessmen and women.
India, Japan and China are Iran’s three biggest oil clients that have stopped their purchases after Trump Administration didn’t renew sanctions waivers. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has finished his Asian tour to rally these countries’ support behind Tehran at a time of heightened tensions with the US.
The 32nd book fair held at the Iranian capital is offering thousands of books about China and its culture in a bid to revive the old Silk Road through cultural exchanges.
China International Contractors’ Association (CHINCA) says it wants to invest more in various projects in Iran as trade volume between two countries is eye-catching. He doesn’t detail which sectors are on its list.
Iran and China are keen on boosting their bilateral trade as Tehran is looking more towards the East in the wake of US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal. The MoUs are a sign that two Asian countries are moving forward in expanding their relations despite US sanctions.
Although bilateral trade between Iran and China have seen a sharp dip, the Asian power is still the first destination of Iranian non-oil exports which, according to latest reports, are petroleum-based products are petrochemicals.
Data from Chinese General Customs Administration show that China-Iran trade has fallen dramatically in the two months following the reimposition of US secondary sanctions. Chinese exports to Iran have collapsed from about $1.2 billion in October 2018 to just $400 million in December 2018—a fall of nearly 70%.
It was sent on freight trains from a Chinese port in the East China Sea, later through the Central Asian country and finally made its way to northern Iran by sea.
Tehran has been able to establish financial channels with regional countries to pay its exports in their national currencies in a bid to unblock the flow of export money to the country.