China is widely seen in Iran as the best way to evade US banking restrictions, as well as EU, US and UN embargoes. However, many in Iran view Chinese products as inferior. There have also been complaints that some Chinese firms have dumped rejected goods in Iran that they could not sell elsewhere.
The director of the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran (TPOI) has met with the Chinese ambassador in Tehran and said Iran and China can boost trade by establishing a joint bank and using national currencies for their transactions.
The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) quoted the TPOI director, Hamid Safdel, as saying the two parties could create a joint trade committee at the ministerial level. He said the countries would be better off if they signed a memorandum of understanding on trade and customs cooperation.
Safdel added that the two countries’ joint economic committee would help expand bank relations and ease the opening of letters of credit as well as establishing commercial firms.
The Chinese ambassador, Yuhong Yang, said a Chinese economic delegation would soon come to Iran. He said that delegation’s first priority would be to review ways of expanding economic relations and resolve current problems in trade ties.
The president of the Iran-China Joint Chamber of Commerce has predicted that annual two-way trade will reach $50 billion in the next five years. Asadollah Asgaroladi said Iran-China trade was $3.5 billion 10 years ago and has now reached $30 billion.
