Negotiations on the economic and security agreement, which could ease Iran’s international isolation, were launched five years ago and are the latest expansion of Beijing’s flagship Belt and Road Initiative. The long-term plan aimed to tap the potential for cooperation between the two countries in the economic, humanities and other fields. The signing of the plan would inject new impetus to further strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries. Iran also opposes unreasonable pressure on China by some Western forces and will resolutely stand with China. Iran looks forward to participating in the Beijing Winter Olympics and will resist any attempts to disrupt the Winter Olympics. The signing of the plan showed that the strategic relationship between Iran and China had entered a new stage.
The plan further includes Iran in China’s One Belt One Road Initiative and is expected to include Chinese investment in energy and infrastructure fields in Iran. The plan was a “road map” for cooperation in trade, economy and transportation, especially in the private sector. Iran is seen as a big market with huge potential, as it has a population of more than 80 million. In recent years, the trade volume between Iran and China has been about US$20 billion a year. That figure is down from close to $52 billion in 2014, due to the drop in oil prices and the unilateral withdrawal of the US from the JPCOA nuclear agreement and sanctions imposed on Iran in 2018. The most important facet of the plan is expanding ties between the two countries in trade and economic matters. Iran should have signed and implemented such a deal with China long ago. China and Iran have not announced the specific content of the cooperation agreement, there has been speculation that it will increase China’s influence in the Middle East and weaken the United States’ bid to isolate Iran.