The value of non-oil trade between Iran and China stood at $6.939 billion during the first quarter of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-June 21), according to the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA).Foroud Asgari said that China was Iran’s top non-oil export destination in the mentioned three-month period, importing $3.511 billion of goods from Iran.Exporting commodities valued at $3.428 billion to Iran, China was Iran's second source of non-oil import in the first quarter, the IRICA head added.According to the data recently released by China’s customs, Iranian exports to China reached $266 million in May 2025, marking a nine percent increase compared to the same month last year, despite an overall decline in bilateral trade during the first five months of the year.Total trade between the two countries from January through May stood at $3.676 billion. China exported $3.22 billion worth of goods to Iran in this period, down 21 percent from a year earlier, while its imports from Iran amounted to $1.456 billion, showing an 18 percent decrease.In May alone, bilateral trade grew by three percent year-on-year to $873 million. Chinese exports to Iran reached $607 million, up one percent from May 2024, while imports from Iran rose by nine percent, climbing from $245 million to $266 million.As previously announced by Abolfazl Akbarpour, the deputy head of IRICA for planning and international affairs, the value of non-oil trade between Iran and China stood at $34.1 billion in the past Iranian calendar year, which ended on March 20, 2025. He said that importing non-oil goods worth $14.8 billion from Iran, China was the first destination of Iranian products in the past year.He also announced that by exporting non-oil products valued at $19.3 billion to Iran, China was the second source of import for Iran in that year.On May 4, Iran-China Business Development Forum convened at the Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (TCCIMA), with the participation of China’s ambassador to Iran, the head of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO), the chair of the Iran-China Parliamentary Friendship Group, and senior officials from the Tehran Chamber.A large number of business leaders from both countries attended the event, where state, legislative, and private-sector strategies for deepening bilateral trade ties were outlined, the TCCIMA portal reported.Opening the event, TCCIMA Head Mahmoud Najafi Arab welcomed Chinese delegates who traveled to Iran for the Iran Expo. He expressed gratitude for the Chinese ambassador’s continued efforts to expand economic ties between the two nations.Najafi Arab said Iran and China share thousands of years of cultural and commercial relations, which have entered a new phase in recent decades, marked by growing partnerships across multiple sectors. He said the two countries could serve as a model for sustainable cooperation based on mutual respect in today’s increasingly interdependent world.He also highlighted recent visits of Iranian private sector delegations to various Chinese provinces and exhibitions, emphasizing the need to identify investment opportunities and facilitate financial exchanges. The Chamber, with over 140 years of history, is prepared to host expert meetings, present economic opportunities, support joint ventures, and activate professional networks between Iranian and Chinese businesses, he said.China’s Ambassador to Iran Cong Peiwu, thanked Iranian participants and the Tehran Chamber for organizing the event. He expressed hope that the forum would help strengthen bilateral trade and economic cooperation.Referencing the recent meeting between the two presidents at the BRICS summit in Russia, Cong said China is fully committed to enhancing cooperation across all sectors in ways that benefit both peoples. (ICE TEHERAN)

Fonte notizia: Tehran Times