BEIJING (Dispatches) — Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will meet with his counterpart Xi Jinping during his three-day trip in China starting Tuesday, as the two allies seek further cooperation.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying made the announcement Sunday, saying Raisi’s visit was at Xi’s invitation.
Raisi will meet with Xi and their delegations will sign cooperation documents, according to Iran’s state news agency IRNA. Meeting with Iranian and Chinese business leaders and Iranian expatriates in China is also part of his itinerary, the report added.
Raisi’s visit is expected to deepen ties between the two political and economic partners that are opposed to the U.S.-led Western domination of international affairs.
The two presidents met last September in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, when Xi underscored China’s support for Iran.
In December, Raisi pledged to remain committed to deepening the strategic partnership during a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua in Tehran.
China is a major buyer of Iranian oil and an important source of investment in the Mideast country. In 2021, Iran and China signed a 25-year strategic cooperation agreement that covered major economic activities from oil and mining to industry, transportation and agriculture.
China is also Iran’s largest trade partner, IRNA said, citing the 10-month statistics of Iranian customs authorities.
Iran’s exports to Beijing stood at $12.6 billion, while it imported $12.7 billion worth of goods from China.
Both countries have had tense relations with the United States and have sought to project themselves as a counterweight to American power alongside Russia.
Iran on Saturday celebrated the 44th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution with nationwide rallies attended and tens of millions of people.
Relations between Iran and China go as far back as the ancient Silk Road, but they are gaining strategic significance because of the West’s refusal to work with Iran under U.S. pressure and its measures to clip China’s wings and stop its economic and political rise. This is automatically pushing Tehran and Beijing into an alliance of sorts.
Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, American businesses have been prevented from trading with Iran, while their European counterparts have withdrawn amid U.S.

threats of sanctions. That has helped Chinese companies move in and fill the void.
As a result, Iran and China have forged a unique partnership that is almost impossible or not easily viable with any other country.
China is still Iran’s biggest oil client despite Washington’s bid to bring Tehran’s exports down to zero.
Iran’s rail sector had become a magnet for rail engineering and rolling stock firms from all over the world before U.S. sanctions in 2018 forced them to withdraw. The pullout left the Chinese with a less contested business terrain.
China’s close involvement in the build-out of Iran’s manufacturing infrastructure is seen entirely in line with its mammoth One Belt, One Road initiative.