Iran exported non-oil commodities valued at $5.6 billion to China during the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-August 22), the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) announced.As reported, China was the top export destination of Iranian non-oil goods in the mentioned five-month period.The IRICA also announced that exporting non-oil goods worth $7.1 billion to Iran, China was Iran’s second source of import in the first five months of this year.According to the data released by China’s customs administration, the value of trade between Iran and China reached $8.540 billion in the first seven months of 2023, registering an 11 percent decline, year on year.As reported, the Asian country’s export of products to Iran accounted for $6 billion of the total trade.China’s exports to the Islamic Republic in January-July 2023 registered a 17 percent growth compared to the same period last year.Also, China imported $2.540 billion worth of products from Iran in the mentioned seven months, registering a 43 percent drop compared to last year’s corresponding period.China had exported $5.130 billion worth of products to Iran from January to July 2022.According to China’s customs administration, the trade balance of the two countries in this period reached $3.460 billion in favor of China.The value of Iran's economic exchanges with its leading trade partner, China, stood at $6.5 billion during the first six months of 2023.Based on China’s customs data, the six-month trade between the two countries had not changed significantly in comparison to the figure for the same period in the previous year.According to the data released by China’s customs administration, the Islamic Republic and China traded $15.795 billion worth of commodities in 2022, $1.035 billion more than the figure for 2021.As reported, China's exports to Iran grew by 14 percent in the period under review compared to the preceding year to reach $9.44 billion. The Asian country exported $8.258 billion worth of goods to Iran in 2021.The value of Iran’s non-oil exports to China, however, registered a two-percent decrease in 2022, reaching $6.355 billion. Iran exported $6.502 billion worth of goods to China in 2021.Iran's share of China's total global trade last year was only 0.25 percent. China’s trade with the world reached $6.308 trillion in 2022, of which $3.593 trillion was the share of the country's exports and $2.715 trillion was related to imports. China's global trade grew by 4.4 percent last year.China is one of Iran’s main trade partners that has maintained strong trade ties with the Islamic Republic despite the strict U.S. sanctions.Iran and China officially signed the document for 25-year comprehensive cooperation in March 2021.The document was signed between Iran’s former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Iranian Foreign Ministry.Back in December 2022, Iran and China finalized 16 memorandums of understanding (MOU) under the framework of the two countries’ strategic 25-year agreement.The MOUs were signed in an Iran-China comprehensive cooperation program summit which was held in Tehran on December 13 in the presence of Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber and China’s Vice Premier Hu Chunhua.The summit was focused on four areas explored by four committees between the two countries with the aim of paving the way for the implementation of the 25-year agreement.Iran and China also signed 20 memoranda of understanding in the presence of the presidents of the two countries in Beijing in mid-February.Heading a high-ranking delegation, Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi was on a three-day state visit to China starting February 14.During President Raisi's visit to China, Tehran and Beijing signed a number of bilateral cooperation documents in the fields of agriculture, trade, tourism, environmental protection, health, disaster relief, culture, and sports.The documents include agreements in the field of transportation and industry worth $12 billion and $3.5 billion, respectively; the agreements cover various joint projects like the high-speed rail link between Tehran and Mashhad, and investment in the Imam Khomeini Airport City.Investment in Iran's southeastern Mokran Coast and the purchase of Iranian oil were also mentioned in the documents. (ICE TEHERAN)

Fonte notizia: Tehran Times