Speaking at a meeting with CEO of Bank of China Chen Siqing, Governor of Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Valiollah Seif said ties with China are fundamental and age-old as the Asian country has always been Iran’s strategic partner in all periods; “expansion of economic ties was also emphasized during the Chinese president’s earlier visit to Tehran.”
“Bolstering of banking relations remain as an indispensable prerequisite to development of economic cooperation between Tehran and Beijing,” he continued.
Seif, while criticizing US' double standards towards countries who launch negotiations with Iran, reiterated that “following the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the 5+1 group of countries have stressed reinvigoration of economic relations with Iran and voiced readiness to exploit its investment opportunities in order to gain access to the regional market.”
“Nevertheless, the US keeps hampering the process since Americans perceive no benefit in Iran’s ties with other states,” CBI governor highlighted.
The official went on to note that Iran hold stronger ties with China than other members of the 5+1 group; accordingly, Chinese hold a better understanding of the Iranian market; “however, opening a bureau of the Bank of China in Tehran could be an effective measure to gather precise and clear data on possible risks in Iran’s market or economy.”
On arrival of foreign currency in Iran, Seif said “in view Iran’s refusal to use dollar in international transactions, presently our currency resources are only enough to import goods from countries to whom we have exported oil and non-oil commodities while the surplus is normally received in euro.”
“Financial support for Chinese firms active in Iran would only be made possible if appropriate broker relations exist between the two sides,” underscored Valiollah Seif adding “to begin collaborations with Bank of China, state banks of Iran and CBI could open accounts in the Chinese bank,” he recommended.
President of Bank of China Chen Siqing, for his part, said the meeting aimed at expansion of monetary ties between the two parties stating “we are after opening a bureau in Tehran in order to develop cooperation while a branch can also be opened in later stages.”
He maintained that reinvigoration of relations would benefit both sides since economic capacities of Iran and China pave the path for boosting banking collaborations.
On the willingness of Bank of China to make presence in Iran, the official outlined Iran as a huge country with a large population and strong economy which offers numerous positive outcomes; “CBI’s support for establishing a bureau of Bank of China is appreciable and launch of broker ties could mark a prelude to opening a branch in Iran, which in turn requires compliance with international standards.”
Founded in 1912, Bank of China is among four largest banks of the Asian country with 18 trillion yuan of assets. Currently, Japanese, Korean, Indian, Chinese as well as a number of European banks own branches or representative offices in Iran.
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