March 15, 2024
Recently published trade statistics show Iran ranks only as China’s 38th trading partner, which is seen by many as further evidence that the much-touted economic ties between the two countries don’t really amount to much.
China’s foreign trade statistics for 2023 reveal that Beijing’s largest trade volume is with the European Union, reaching $783 billion last year. Following the EU are major economies the US ($664 billion) and Japan ($318 billion).
Iran came in as China’s 38th trading partner, with trade volume totaling only $32 billion. This is significantly behind several rivals. Saudi Arabia, for instance, boasts a trade volume with China of $107 billion, followed by the UAE ($95 billion), Iraq ($50 billion) and Turkey ($43 billion). Even Oman ($35 billion) does more trade with China.
Qatar, Kuwait, Pakistan and Egypt are the only regional countries whose volume of trade with China is less than Iran’s.
Faraz Daily, an online newspaper, called the limited trade with China a symptom of a much bigger problem. According to the website, Iran’s share of total world trade decreased to a mere 0.24 percent in 2022. That makes Iran’s claim to have struck a massive blow against the United States by ceasing to trade in the US dollar less than a pinprick.
Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, an economist and the founder of the Bourse & Bazaar Foundation, a think-tank focusing on economic diplomacy in the Middle East and Central Asia, remarked on X, “Chinese exports to Iran have fallen significantly since their 2014 peak.”
