(Beijing) Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday praised China-Iran “solidarity” when welcoming his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi to Beijing, who is starting a three-day stay in the Asian country.
This is the first state visit by an Iranian president to China in over 20 years.
Ebrahim Raïsi, accompanied to Beijing by a large economic and commercial delegation, was welcomed by Xi Jinping on the red carpet of the huge People’s Palace, on the edge of Tiananmen Square.
After listening to their country’s anthems, the two men reviewed the Chinese honor guard to the sound of military music.
“Facing the complex situation brought about by changes in the world, times and history, China and Iran support each other, show solidarity and cooperation,” Xi told him, according to the statement. Chinese state television CCTV.
Both countries are facing Western pressure, in particular because of their positions vis-à-vis the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Iran is already under US sanctions because of its nuclear program.
Iran is among the last major countries to offer support to Russia, whose diplomatic isolation has been growing since the start of Russian military intervention in late February 2022.
Western countries notably accuse the Islamic Republic of supplying Moscow with armed military drones used against Ukraine, which Tehran denies.
“Unilateralism”
The Russian invasion in Ukraine is an embarrassing file for Beijing, because Moscow is its strategic partner. China urges respect for state sovereignty, while calling for Russian security concerns to be taken into account.
“China supports Iran in safeguarding its national sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and national dignity,” Xi Jinping told his Iranian counterpart on Tuesday.
“China supports Iran in resisting unilateralism and intimidation, opposes external forces that interfere in Iran’s internal affairs and undermine Iran’s security and stability. »
The two countries also on Tuesday signed several bilateral cooperation documents in the fields of agriculture, trade, tourism, environmental protection, health, disaster relief, culture and sports, according to CCTV.
The Iranian president is surrounded in Beijing by his Minister of Foreign Affairs, that of Economy and Finance, the Minister of Petroleum or even that of Agriculture, according to Iranian state television.
During his visit, Ebrahim Raisi must also meet with Chinese businessmen and compatriots living in China, according to the official Iranian agency Irna.
Beijing had signed in 2021 a vast strategic agreement over 25 years with Tehran. This major partnership covers areas as varied as energy, security, infrastructure and communications.
Nuclear
China is Iran’s biggest trading partner, according to Irna, which cites statistics from Iranian customs authorities over 10 months.
During this period, the Islamic Republic exported to China for 12.6 billion dollars (11.7 billion euros) of goods, while it imported for 12.7 billion dollars (11.8 billion euros) of Chinese products.
Tehran and the major powers launched talks in April 2021 in Vienna aimed at resuscitating the international agreement which guarantees the civilian nature of Iran’s nuclear program, accused despite its denials of seeking to acquire atomic weapons.
These negotiations are now at a standstill.
Beijing is one of the members of the dialogue group which aims to relaunch this agreement between Iran on the one hand and six major powers on the other (China, Russia, United States, France, Germany and United Kingdom) as well as the European Union.
The diplomat Ali Bagheri, who supervised these talks for Iran, accompanies Ebrahim Raïssi in China.
This visit by the Iranian president comes at a time when Iran remains crossed by a protest movement, sparked by the death on September 16 of Mahsa Amini, a young woman of 22 years arrested for violating the strict dress code of the Islamic Republic.