China and Iran signed an overarching agreement to chart the course of their economic, political and trade relations for the next 25 years, Iranian state television reported, in a challenge to the Biden government.
The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement, signed in Tehran on Saturday by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, has been in the works since 2016, when President Xi Jinping became the first Chinese leader to adopt the Visited Iranian capital. in more than a decade.
“The document may take bilateral ties to a new strategic level,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said in a televised interview. The deal aims to boost cooperation between the private sector and the Islamic Republic’s role in Xi’s flagship infrastructure and investment program, the Belt and Road Initiative, he said.
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A draft copy of the outline of the deal released in the media last year showed long-term plans for the supply of Iranian crude oil to China, as well as investments in oil, gas, petrochemical, renewable energy and nuclear energy infrastructure .
Beijing-Tehran alliance challenges US President Joe Biden’s administration as it tries to try gather allies against China, which Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said is the “greatest geopolitical test” in the world.
The China Pact now comes in attempts to revive Iran’s nuclear accord with world powers. The Biden administration has indicated its openness to renewed cooperation with Iran after then-President Donald Trump left the deal and re-imposed economic sanctions almost three years ago, but the two sides have yet to agree to meet again .
Iran’s closer integration with China could help bolster its economy against the impact of US sanctions, while at the same time sending a clear signal to the Biden administration of Tehran’s intentions. Wang Yi, who arrived in Tehran on Friday, also met with President Hassan Rouhani to discuss the nuclear deal.
In a televised address, Rouhani reiterated his views on the prospect of easing restrictions before the end of his second and final term as president in early August.
“We are ready to lift the sanctions,” he said Saturday. “If obstacles are removed, all or at least some sanctions can be lifted.”