Indications are growing that China is already cementing its foothold in the Iranian economy through a heavy campaign of investments in the country’s infrastructure projects.
The latest market figures show the level of trade between Iran and China increased by almost a quarter over the past eight months.
China has signed an agreement with Iran to provide a credit line of $10 billion for its infrastructure projects.
The total value of bilateral trade between Tehran and Beijing in the first half of 2017 increased by 31 percent compared to the amount for a year earlier, the East Asian country’s customs data showed.
A senior Chinese diplomat has thrown his country’s weight behind Iran’s membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), an emerging economic and security alliance jointly led by China and Russia.
Iran says it welcomes China’s investments in its non-oil projects, stressing that it stands ready to have an active participation in the Silk Road Initiative pursued by Beijing.
Iran says it has signed two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with two major Chinese banks to provide loans for its key development projects.