On September 28 local time, President Xi Jinping met in New York with President Hassan Rouhani of Iran.
Xi Jinping noted that China attaches great importance to its relations with Iran, and the foundation of China-Iran friendship and cooperation has grown ever stronger since the two countries established diplomatic relations more than 40 years ago. Not long ago, Iran and the six nations on the Iranian nuclear issue reached a comprehensive agreement. The implementation of the agreement brings Iran more opportunities for cooperation with other countries and offers the China-Iran relationship new development opportunities as well. China stands ready to join hands with Iran to seize the opportunities presented by the nuclear agreement and continue to advance bilateral relations and practical cooperation.
Xi Jinping stressed that both sides should lift the status of bilateral relations, beef up cooperation between political parties, legislative bodies, local governments and people-to-people exchanges, and deepen cooperation within such multilateral frameworks as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the United Nations, so as to constantly increase political mutual trust and enrich connotation of bilateral strategic relationship. Development strategies of both sides should also be docked. China is willing to work with Iran to prioritize cooperation projects in infrastructure construction and connectivity and expand cooperation in fields such as railway, road, steel, car-making, electricity, engineering machinery, advanced technology and environmental protection. Cooperation in energy and financial sectors should be given priority. China is ready to join hands with Iran to fully explore their complementary advantages in the energy sector and carry out stable and long-term strategic cooperation. The two sides should take practical measures to step up security cooperation.
Hassan Rouhani said that Iran cherishes its friendly relations with China and, under the new circumstances, is willing to work with China to maintain close high-level exchanges and deepen long-term strategic cooperation in such fields as economy, trade and energy, so as to continuously advance bilateral relationship. With the joint efforts of related parties, negotiations on the Iranian nuclear issue have made a major breakthrough, which accords with the common interests of all parties and provides opportunities for Iran to expand cooperation with other countries. Iran is willing to work with other parties to ensure the implementation of the comprehensive agreement on the Iranian nuclear issue.
Yang Jiechi and others were present at the meeting.