TEHRAN, May 15 (Shana) � Deputy Administrator of National Energy Administration of China Zhang Yuqing said his country is planning to buy 50% of Iran's gas exports.

Speaking following a ceremony to sign a long-term MoU with Amir Hossein Zamaninia, deputy petroleum minister for international affairs and trading, in Tehran on Sunday, Yuqing said Chinese companies can well jockey for the Iranian market with their European rivals now that sanctions have been lifted on Tehran.

He said Chinese oil companies are among the top ones in the world and their activities meet the international standards.

He said oil and gas fields are very much more complicated in China than in Iran which makes Chinese developers more sophisticated in upstream operations.

China imported 2,500 tons of crude oil from Iran in 2015.

By SHANA