FNA - Chairman of Iran's Strategic Council on Foreign Relations and former Foreign Minister Seyed Kamal Kharrazi lashed out at the Western countries’ approach towards independent countries like China, and called on Beijing to seal a 25-year cooperation deal with Tehran.

In a Friday meeting with prominent Chinese Professor Yan Xuetong, Dean of the Institute of International Relations at Tsinghua University, Kharrazi lashed out at the sabotaging approach of Western powers towards independent states and emphasized, “Signing and sealing a comprehensive 25-year cooperation document between Iran and China will provide the possibility of strengthening cooperation in different fields.”

He added that scientific and civilization exchanges between Islamic Republic of Iran and People’s Republic of China are “very fruitful”.

The former Iranian Foreign Minister pointed to the important role of Iran and China in human civilization and added, “The two countries of Iran and China have longstanding and age-old relations in the field of civilization which dates back to many years ago. Chinese have adopted Confucian teachings as a pillar of their contemporary civilization while Iranians have adopted Islamic teaching, so, scientific and civilization exchange will be very useful for taking advantage of the experiences of the two nations.”

Islamic Republic of Iran welcomes exchanging university students and developing scientific cooperation between the two countries, he added.

Kharrazi put special emphasis on the key role of leaders in creating reforms and solving problems and added, “In revolutions, the role of leadership is very crucial for the guidance of nations, otherwise, movement of nations will lead to chaos.”

For his part, Yan Xuetong emphasized the need for the continuity of reforms in each country.

China’s foreign policy is based on three principles of ‘Chinese realities’, ‘globalization’ and ‘Chinese culture’, the professor stressed.

He further emphasized the significance of cooperation between Iran and China in all areas.

In October, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Abbas Mousavi categorically denounced the US Congress legislation on Hong Kong as a “brazen” case of Washington's interference in the domestic affairs of other countries.

"International law categorically rejects meddling in other countries' internal affairs, and unfortunately the reoccurrence of such a behavior by the US regime has turned into a means to destabilize countries," Mousavi said.

"It is not the first time that the US regime and the country's Congress do such things, and the Islamic Republic of Iran regards these measures as a clear example of interference in the domestic affairs of countries and condemns them," he added.

The Iranian spokesperson emphasized that citizens of all countries are entitled to the civil right to protest in line with law and public order without any foreign interference.

The so-called Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019, which would support “democratic freedoms” in the Asian financial hub, moved through the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee on September 25, setting the stage for possible approval in both chambers of the US Congress in the coming weeks.

China has vowed to “hit back forcefully” at the United States, after the US Congress officially pushed forward the legislation, a move that Beijing considers interference in its affairs.