July 26, The Iran Project – China’s Customs Department has announced that in the first half of 2017, the volume of trade exchanges between Iran and China grew by 31% compared to the same period a year ago.

The data released by the department showed that Chinese-Iranian trade exchanges stood at USD 18 billion in the first six months of 2017, witnessing 31% year-on-year increase.

Iran-China trade was worth USD 13.7 billion in the first half of 2016, according to the data.

Exports from China to Iran rose to $ 8.8 billion in January-July 2017, showing a 23% increase compared to the same period last year in which China exported $ 7.2 billion worth of goods to Iran.

China’s imports from Iran have also significantly increased so that Beijing's $ 6.5 billion imports from Iran in the first half of 2016 reached $ 9.2 billion in January to July 2017, showing a 40% rise.

It is worthy to mention that Beijing is the top customer of Iran’s crude and is seen as Tehran’s largest trade partner.

Head of Iran-China Joint Chamber of Commerce Asadollah Asgaroladi said earlier at a business meeting with a delegation of China’s oil and gas activists in Iran’s Chamber of Commerce that Tehran and Beijing have long had great trade, social and cultural ties, referring to oil and gas as the basis of two countries’ trade relations.