Tehran, Iran, April 23
By Milad Fashtami - Trend:
Iran invited Chinese investors to participate in major projects in the country.
Deputy finance and economic affairs minister Behrouz Alishiri said that Iran will support foreign investors in every possible way.
"Iran's economy is currently undergoing major reforms in different sectors," Alishiri said at the meeting with Chinese businessmen in Beijing.
Iranian Tasnim News Agency reported on April 21 that Iranian Minister of the Economic Affairs and Finance Ali Tayebnia has called for establishing special trade relations between Tehran and Beijing.
Tayebnia expressed hope that Chinese businesspersons will allocate a significant portion of their overseas investment to Iran. He went on to note that Tehran and Beijing enjoy great potential to increase mutual trade transactions.
The director of the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran Valiollah Afkhami-Rad said on March 3 that Tehran and Beijing plan to increase their annual trade to $200 billion.
"Based on the goals set by the presidents of Iran and China, trade transactions between the two countries should reach $200 billion annually in 10 years," Valiollah Afkhami-Rad said.
"The establishment of joint venture companies can contribute to the promotion of trade ties between Iran and China," he further said.
According to Afkhami-Rad, Chinese can invest in various sectors in Iran, including steel, mines, transportation, agriculture, oil, gas and the petrochemical industry.
The Iranian official further said that China plans to construct 36 million housing units in Iran by 2015.
He also said Tehran-Beijing trade reached $40 billion in 2013.
China is Iran's biggest economic partner, and Tehran is currently Beijing's third largest supplier of crude.