Iran and China Sign 25-Year Strategic Cooperation Agreement

March 27 , 2021 (EIRNS)—Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif signed a 25-year comprehensive strategic partnership agreement, yesterday, marking a milestone in bilateral relations between the two countries, reported PressTV. Wang and Zarif also marked “half a century of friendly diplomatic relations” by opening an exhibition of documents on the two countries’ bilateral ties.

Wang said China’s relations with Iran will be “permanent and strategic” and will not be affected by the current situation. “Iran decides independently on its relations with other countries and is not like some countries that change their position with one phone call,” he said during a meeting with Ali Larijani, former speaker of the Iranian parliament and now an advisor to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

The Sino-Iranian Comprehensive Strategic Partnership was first announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping in a joint statement during a 2016 visit to Tehran. According to PressTV, the cooperation roadmap consists of 20 articles, covering Tehran-Beijing ties in “Political,” “Executive Cooperation,” “Human and Cultural,” “Judiciary, Security and Defense,” and “Regional and International” domains, according to the statement released back then. The agreement not only aims at improving trade between China and Russia but also provides for investments and cooperation in transport, power, industry, agriculture, mining, and other industries.

The 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was also on the agenda for Wang’s meetings in Tehran. Wang said the JCPOA is a multifaceted document and the result of multilateralism, and that Washington’s withdrawal from the accord was a move against international norms, reported Tasnim News. China believes preserving the JCPOA is protecting multilateralism and safeguarding international laws, he said, and declaring that the U.S. should return to the agreement and lift its sanctions on Iran.

Wang’s tour of the region also includes visits to Saudi Arabia, Turkey, U.A.E., Bahrain and Oman.