Iran, China agree on cash payment for Iranian oil, gas

Tehran, Iran, June 1

By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:

Iran and China have agreed that China would pay in cash for the oil and gas it buys from Iran.

"According to the agreement made with Chinese officials, it was settled that after deducting a sum as commission, the rest be paid to Iran in cash or given to a third country for imports," Head of Iran-China Chamber of Commerce Asadollah Asgar Oladi said.

He said that the agreement came after Iran requested some of the oil and gas money to be paid in cash and some be transferred to countries like South Korea and Japan for purchasing goods, Tasnim news agency reported June 1.

Previously, a contract between the two countries said Iran would import goods in return for the oil and gas it exported to China.

Addressing concerns that after international sanctions on Iran are removed, China will lose its place in the Iranian market, he said that the Iran-China trade relation is seen in long-run terms and does not depend on sanctions.

Iran is negotiating a way with the group P5+1 (the US, UK, France, Russia, China, and Germany) to remove sanctions on its economy, which were imposed over its nuclear program.

According to the Iran's Sixth Development Plan, Iran-China trade is to increase by 20 percent every year, Asgar Oladi noted.

He also announced that there is a plan where Iran and China would jointly produce goods, part of which would go to the Iranian market and the other part to Asian markets as defined by China.

According to Asgar Oladi, Iran-China trade stands at $52 billion, 55 percent of which is export (including oil, gas, and petrochemical products) and 45 percent is the import of goods and services.

Iran exported 8.28 million metric tons of non-oil goods, worth $2.7 billion to China during the first four months of 2015.

China was the main importer of Iranian goods in the mentioned period. Beijing's imports accounted for 23.3 percent of Iran's total non-oil exports in terms of value and 34 percent in terms of volume.

China was the main exporter of goods to Iran in the mentioned period. Beijing's exports accounted for 24.8 percent of Iran's total imports in terms of value and 12.2 percent in terms of volume.

Edited by CN

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