Chinese President Xi Jinping to pay official visit to Iran

Iran's FNA news agency on April 5 quoted Chairman of the Iran-China Chamber of Commerce Asadollah Asgaroladi as saying that Chinese President Xi Jinping will soon pay an official visit to Iran in the near future.

"Iran-China relations have improved significantly and President Xi Jinping's upcoming visit to Iran will pave the way for increased trade between the two countries," Asgaroladi said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping. (Source: THX/TTXVN)

Mr. Asgaroladi also noted that Tehran and Beijing want to boost annual trade from the current $52 billion to $60 billion next year, starting from March 2016.

Earlier, in a statement in February, Iranian Ambassador to Beijing Ali Asqar Khaji said that Tehran has significantly increased the volume of trade with China.

According to Mr. Khaji, in 2014 Iran's exports to China increased by about 30% compared to the previous year.

Iran is currently China's third largest crude oil supplier, accounting for about 12% of China's total annual oil consumption./.

According to VNA