Raisi's visit to China eyes strengthened political and economic ties: Expert

GUANGZHOU, China, Feb. 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a news report from GDToday, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi arrived in Beijing on February 14 for a three-day state visit, his first visit to China since taking office in August 2021.

"President Raisi's visit aims to promote the implementation of long-term cooperative plans," Li Shaoxian, director of the China Institute for Arab Studies at Ningxia University, told GDToday in an exclusive interview on February 15. Before the interview, Li attended a meeting with Raisi as one of the representatives of Chinese intellectuals.

Iran's "looking east" policy, key to national development

"When I visited Middle Eastern countries such as Iran, the locals often told me that they insist on political independence, but the sanctions have endangered their national development. Therefore, they seek to 'look east' and learn the experience of independent development from China and other countries," Li said.

He analyzed that Iran practices its"looking east" policy through two approaches. "The first one is to take part in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which Iran regards as a major opportunity for national development. The geographic location of Iran is pivotal for the main route of the Belt and Road while the trade routes to Europe from China's Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia converge on Iran."

"Chinese companies have assisted Iran in building most of the metro lines and trains in Iran's capital city, Teheran, through BRI projects, improving the local transportation efficiency and promoting tourism development," Li added.

According to Li, Iran's second approach in its "looking east" policy is to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

Iran completed the legal procedures for joining the SCO in 2022. On February 7, 2023, Raisi issued an order for implementing the law on Iran's membership of the SCO.

"In theory, Iran has already become an official SCO member. It is expected to attend the SCO summit in India in September 2023 as the ninth member of the organization," Li said.

He believes Iran's participation in the SCO will not only help Iran itself to tackle its current economic and social plight, but would also boost the development of the SCO and international counter-terrorism cooperation.

The economies of China and Iran highly complementary

A 25-year agreement was signed between the two countries in 2021 to enhance cooperation in a range of fields, including energy, infrastructure, production capacity, science and technology, and medical and health care. China and Iran stressed that they are now ready to implement the plan during Raisi's visit.

"The economies of China and Iran are highly complementary. With the implementation of the deal, the two sides would tap the potential of economic and cultural cooperation," Li said.

Li elaborated that Iran is a major oil exporter and holds the second-largest natural-gas reserve. "It is also one of the few countries in the Middle East with a relatively complete industrial system."

In Li's view, Iran can take advantage of its rich natural resources and promote bilateral trade through cooperation while China can make full use of its complete industrial chain and help Iran push forward with industrial transformation and upgrading.

SOURCE GDToday