Tasnim� Chairman of Iran-China Joint Chamber of Commerce Asadollah Asgaroladi said the Southeast Asian country is now the biggest trading partner of the Islamic Republic.

Speaking to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), Asgaroladi hailed the recent rise in Iranian exports to China.

He added that currently, Iran is the top exporter of goods to China among Middle Eastern countries.

The official described the past Iranian year (which ended on March 20) as �a good year for the country�s exports�.

He also predicted that in the current year, the volume of exports would increase by 5 to 7 percent compared to the last year.

China has imported $18.579 billion worth of goods from Iran in 2017, around 25 percent higher than 2016.

Back in January 2016, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani held talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Tehran and said, �We predict that the value of economic exchanges between Tehran and Beijing would rise to $600 billion within the next 10 years�.