TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Minister of Industries, Mines and Trade Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh stressed that the present visit by a Chinese trade delegation to Iran is a good sign for the further expansion of mutual cooperation between the two states.The visit of a 100-member trade delegation from China to Iran is a good sign for the improvement of trade relations between the two countries, Nematzadeh said.
He further explained that the Chinese companies can invest in different areas of industry, energy, gas and petrochemical products in Iran.
The minister pointed to Irans strategic position which links the East to West and South, and said, Cooperation with China can revive the Silk Road.
Nematzadeh said that the value of contracts signed between Iran and China in the past two years valued $20 billion.
Prior to the minister, his deputy Valiollah Afkhami said the annual trade exchanges between Iran and China have exceeded $40bln in value, thanks to the two sides' growing cooperation.
The volume of the (non-oil) trade exchanges between Iran and China stood at $15.5bln in 2013 with Irans share amounting to $7bln and Chinas share standing at $8.5bln, Afkhami Rad said in a meeting on Iran-China economic cooperation in Tehran Sunday morning.
Also, taking into account the oil exports, the trade transactions between the two countries reached $40bln which has witnessed an eye-catching growth compared with the last year, he added.
Afkhami underlined that Tehran and Beijing should set up joint companies to be able to reach the target of $200bln trade exchanges considered by the two countries presidents for the next year.
Last week, Chinese Ambassador to Tehran Yu Hong Yang and Chairman of the board of directors of the Industrial Development & Renovation Organization (IDRO) Gholamreza Shafiyee in a meeting in Tehran underscored significance of developing industrial cooperation between the two friendly nations.
Trade between Iran and China in the past year was estimated at $40bln.
Iran is currently China's third largest supplier of crude, providing Beijing with roughly 12 percent of its total annual oil consumption.
By Fars News Agency
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