Monitoring Desk
BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday hailed Beijing’s “solidarity” with Iran, as he hosted the Islamic Republic’s President Ebrahim Raisi at the start of a 3-day visit.
Xi said that in the face of the complex changes in the world, history and times, China and Iran have supported each other and worked together in cooperation and solidarity, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
In the first state visit by an Iranian president to China in more than twenty years, Raisi has brought a large finance and trade delegation to Beijing and received a red-carpet welcome from Xi earlier Tuesday.
Tehran and Beijing have strong economic ties and in 2021 signed a 25-year “strategic cooperation pact”.
Both nations face pressure from Western countries over their positions on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while Iran is already under strict US sanctions due to its nuclear program.
Xi Jinping expresses support for Iran
CCTV reported Xi as saying that China “supports Iran in safeguarding national sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and national dignity… and in resisting unilateralism and hegemonism”.
Xi said that China also opposed external forces interfering in the internal affairs of Iran and undermining its security and stability.
He added that Beijing would continue to promote the early and proper resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue.
The two sides inked a number of bilateral cooperation agreements in the fields of trade, tourism, agriculture, environmental protection, health, disaster relief, culture, and sports.
