Baku, Azerbaijan, April 11
By Khalid Kazimov - Trend:
Long-term cooperation with China in energy is necessary for Iran, and the existing problems will be solved through time, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said heading Tehran after a two-day visit to Beijing.
He said that during his stay in China, he held talks with Chinese entities on joint oil projects, SHANA news agency reported April 10.
Good results were given, good agreements were reached, and the negotiations will be highly influential in strengthening mutual bonds, he said.
Zanganeh pointed out that Iran's offers of cooperation on oil and gas condensates trade were warmly welcomed by the Chinese sides.
"The Iran-China relationship is one for all spheres; and the two countries intend to boost these relations at the best of levels," he asserted.
The Iranian oil minister held 3 important meetings with Chinese officials on April 9-10.
On April 9 he held talks with China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) Chairman Fu Chengyu.
On April 10 he met China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) Chairman Zhou Jiping as well as the head of china's energy organization.
China is Iran's biggest trade partner. It absorbed half of Iran's crude export in 2012 when international sanctions on Tehran were tightened.
Last year, Iran-China trade turnover hit $52 billion, which is expected to surpass $55 billion this year (Iranian calendar year from March 21, 2015 to March 20, 2016).
According to Chinese customs reports, Iran was the sixth largest oil exported to the Asian country in 2014.
In 2014 Iran's crude export to China rose by 28 percent compared to 2013 to hit 27.46 million metric tons, about 550 thousand barrels per day.
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