FM Zarif: Iran-China cooperation plan in negotiation phase

Tehran, July 16, IRNA – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif underlined that the 25-year cooperation plan between Iran and China is presently in the negotiation phase and waiting for further approvals. "We are in the negotiation phase and in this phase the approval for negotiation has been obtained from the government," Zarif said on Thursday. The Iranian foreign minister underscored that if there will be a legal binding in the plan, it should be later submitted to the Iranian parliament for review, otherwise as a government approval, the parliament will study the plan's compliance with the country's law and hence it will never be hidden from the parliament. In related remarks earlier in July, Zarif was quoted by Rapporteur of National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of Iran's parliament Abolfazl Amouie as saying that Iran-China relations are strategic, and based on common interests, as well as mutual respect. Zarif made the remarks in a session of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission while briefing the Iranian lawmakers on the landscape for a 25-year Iran-China cooperation plan. Amouie cited Zarif as dismissing some rumors, including giving away Iran's Persian Gulf Island of Kish for rent to China and bestowing exclusive rights of selling oil to the Chinese companies at low prices. "Zarif stressed the significance of taking into consideration the national interest in drafting the document," the Iranian lawmaker said. "The rumors on Iran-China relations are the clear manifestation of the animosity towards the two countries," Amouie quoted Zarif as saying. During the 2016 visit of China's President Xi Jinping to Tehran, the two sides decided to design a 25-year comprehensive roadmap.