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IRAN

President Raisi to visit China to shore up ties

Published:Monday | February 13, 2023 | 12:21 AM
In this file photo released by China’s Xinhua News Agency, Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi (right) and Chinese President Xi Jinping pose for a photo on the sidelines of a meeting at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan,
AP/ File
In this file photo released by China’s Xinhua News Agency, Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi (right) and Chinese President Xi Jinping pose for a photo on the sidelines of a meeting at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, in September 2022.

BEIJING (AP):

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will meet with his counterpart Xi Jinping during his three-day trip in China starting on Tuesday, as the two US rivals seek further cooperation.

China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying made the announcement on Sunday, saying Raisi’s visit was at Xi’s invitation.

Raisi will meet with Xi and their delegations will sign cooperation documents, according to Iran’s state news agency IRNA. Meeting with Iranian and Chinese business leaders and Iranian expatriates in China is also part of his itinerary, the report added.

Raisi’s visit is expected to deepen ties between the two political and economic partners that are opposed to the US-led Western domination of international affairs.

The two leaders met last September in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, when Xi underscored China’s support for Iran.

In December, Raisi pledged to remain committed to deepening the strategic partnership during a meeting with Chinese Vice-Premier Hu Chunhua in Tehran.

China is a major buyer of Iranian oil and an important source of investment in the Middle Eastern country. In 2021, Iran and China signed a 25-year strategic cooperation agreement that covered major economic activities from oil and mining to industry, transportation and agriculture.

Both countries have had tense relations with the United States and have sought to project themselves as a counterweight to American power alongside Russia.

Washington has accused Iran of selling hundreds of attack drones to Russia for its war in Ukraine and has sanctioned executives of an Iranian drone manufacturer. At the same time, ties between Moscow and Beijing have grown stronger.

Iran on Saturday celebrated the 44th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution amid nationwide anti-government protests and heightened tensions with the West.