Iran has exported over $2.1 billion worth of products to China in the nine-month period ended December 21, 2009, showing 40 percent increase compared to the year before, an official with the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran stated.
The Mehr News Agency quoted Amir Talebi as saying that exports in the same period last year stood at $1.5 billion.
He added that after Iraq, China is the second-largest trade partner of Iran.
Talebi pointed out that in the mentioned period imports from China decreased by 17 percent.
"Propane, iron ore, polyethylene, aluminum, copper, marble, chrome ore, cast iron, lead, concentrated licorice, and sulfur were the main items exported to China," he noted.
China and Iran enjoy an extensive economic relationship. The two countries cooperate in many sectors, including energy, construction, trade, and tourism. China currently helps Iran build dams, shipyards, ports, airports, mine-development, and oil and gas infrastructure.
The level of trade between the two countries increased from $400 million in 1994 to $29 billion in 2008. The Tehran-Beijing economic relations have grown at an average annual rate of 40 percent over the past few years.
Meanwhile, exports to Hong Kong increased by 45 percent in the nine-month period reaching $162 million in value compared to $112 million in the previous year, he said.
The official explained that items exported to Hong Kong included pistachio, edible chicken viscera, carpets, lead ore, plastic products, copper, animal skins, figs, dates, and saffron.
In the mentioned period, exports soared by 56 percent to Vietnam, 28 percent to the Philippines, and 29 percent to New Zealand.