On January 23, during a state visit to Iran to strengthen the traditional friendship and promote economic cooperation between the two countries, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani agreed to upgrade their bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership, calling it a “new stage” in bilateral relations.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (left) and Chinese President Xi Jinping. (Source: AP)

“We are happy to welcome President Xi Jinping to Iran after the sanctions against Tehran have been lifted,” Rouhani said at a joint press conference with the Chinese president, broadcast live on national television. “Iran and China have agreed to increase trade to $600 billion in the next 10 years.”

Mr. Rouhani said the two countries agreed to sign 17 treaties, including agreements on efforts to restore the "Silk Road" - an ancient trade route, and cooperation on peaceful nuclear energy. In addition, the two sides agreed to cooperate closely in dealing with terrorism and extremism in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and Yemen.

For his part, President Xi Jinping stressed that he seeks “strategic relations with Iran.”

Iran is the last stop on the Chinese leader's three-nation Middle Eastern tour after Saudi Arabia and Egypt. This is the first state visit by a Chinese head of state to Iran in 14 years.

China and Iran established diplomatic relations in 1971. Two-way trade turnover has increased from tens of millions of USD in the 1970s to nearly 52 billion USD in 2014. China has been Iran's largest trading partner for the past six consecutive years./.

According to Vietnam+