Baku, Azerbaijan, March 18
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
Iran's president is scheduled to visit China sometime within the next two months, according to Iranian diplomatic sources, IRNA reported on March 18.
"President Rouhani will visit China in the next two months," said Iran's ambassador to China Mehdi Safari.
During the meeting with Iranian businessmen in China, Safari noted that currently the visit of the president is being prepared by the embassy.
Previously, Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi visited Tehran in December 2013 and held meetings with Iranian senior officials including president Rouhani, parliament speaker Ali Larijani and foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
The two sides discussed bilateral ties, Iran's nuclear issue, as well as regional issues, and agreed to work closer in promoting peace and stability in concerned countries and the region as a whole.
On Jan. 20, Chinese Ambassador to Tehran Yuhang Yang announced that the value of trade between the two countries stood at $31 billion in the first ten months of 2013, a 5.3 percent growth year on year. The bilateral trade amounted to $36 billion in 2012, the diplomat added.
In December 2013, Iran-China Joint Chamber of Commerce Chairman Asadollah Asgaroladi announced that the annual trade between Iran and China may reach $38 billion by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2014).