Pres. Rouhani: Iran, China determined to bosst all-out strategic relations
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says Tehran and Beijing are fully determined to improve “strategic and long-term” cooperation in various political and economic fields.
"Tehran and Beijing enjoy very good relations and the two countries' common stance on international issues attests to the favorable level of these ties," Rouhani said in a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in the capital Tehran on Saturday.
He hailed the bilateral economic cooperation despite the US sanctions and its economic war against the Iranian nation, saying enhanced interaction between the two countries' private sectors would play a leading role in the promotion of economic ties.
Pointing to the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Tehran and Beijing, Rouhani urged both sides to speed up the implementation of agreements signed in the field of important infrastructural and developmental projects.
The president commended China's support for Iran in the international scene, including its stance on the 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was signed between Tehran and major world powers, and the fight against the US unilateralism and extremism.
"Cooperation between Iran and China on the implementation of the JCPOA and the European countries' fulfillment of their commitments as per the deal are very important and can lead to a change in the current situation surrounding the JCPOA," Rouhani said.
The future of the JCPOA has been in doubt since May 2018, when the US under ex-president Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the agreement and imposed the "toughest ever" sanctions on Iran as part of his so-called "maximum pressure," which tried in vain to force Iran back to the negotiating table for talks on a "better deal."
Despite throwing verbal support behind the JCPOA, the European parties to the deal - France, Britain and Germany - ultimately succumbed to Washington's pressure and failed to fulfill their contractual commitments to Tehran.
The Chinese foreign minister further said acts of interference by the US and foreign powers are to blame for insecurity in the region and called for constructive solutions agreed by all countries in the region to tackle the woes.
He added that China has always attached great importance to enhanced ties with Iran and vowed to cooperate with Tehran to provide the country with more COVID-19 vaccines.
The Chinese foreign minister, who is on a six-country tour of West Asia, arrived in Tehran on Friday on an official two-day visit at the invitation of his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif.