Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang met on Thursday in the Chinese capital Beijing.
The meeting took place hours after the top Iranian diplomat and his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud signed a joint statement on bilateral relations in the Chinese capital.
Referring to the strong steps that have been taken over the past year regarding bilateral ties, Amir-Abdollahian to his Chinese counterpart, “Our strategic policy is to expand ties with China."
The Iranian foreign minister further spoke about the key agreements between the presidents of Iran and China and the strategic partnership treaty between the two countries.
“I am confident that the agreements of the two presidents will be pursued and implemented seriously and bilateral ties will move ahead at higher speed," he said.
In other remarks, Amir-Abdollahian pointed to the policy of the Iranian government regarding the expansion of ties with regional countries, saying the Islamic Republic of Iran welcomes partnership with China and the Persian Gulf littoral states in line with the Belt and Road Initiative.
The top Iranian diplomat also called for speeding up the holding of meetings of the Iran-China joint commission for economic cooperation in order to strengthen joint work between the two countries in various fields, including economic relations.
Issues pertaining to cooperation in such fields as energy, banking, money and credit, trade and commerce, provincial cooperation, visa facilities, and cultural cooperation were among others raised by the Iranian foreign minister in the meeting.
Amir-Abdollahian also invited his Chinese counterpart to visit Tehran.
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang for his part said following the meeting between the presidents of Iran and China, the pace of expanding bilateral ties has increased and that Beijing is willing to work toward deepening relations with Tehran based on the roadmap that has been agreed upon.
Qin described the Tehran-Beijing relations as deep, adding that China supports Iran’s territorial integrity and opposes any interference in the country’s internal affairs.
The Chinese foreign minister also expressed pleasure with the official restoration of diplomatic ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia, saying the agreement will help boost stability and security in the region.
Qin stressed that China welcomes the expansion of ties between Iran and regional countries and these positive developments show that the unilateral sanctions against Iran have been futile.
Qin also underlined the necessity of strengthening ties between Iran and China at regional and international levels in parallel with the expansion of bilateral relations.
The top Chinese diplomat further thanked Amir-Abdollahian for inviting him to Tehran and accepted the invitation, saying it’s on his schedule.
RHM/MFA
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