The value of trade transactions between Iran and China in the first half of 2017 stood at $18 billion, showing a 31 percent increase, compared to the same period in 2016, the latest data released by China’s customs office showed.
The total value of bilateral trade between the two Asian countries from January to June in 2016 had amounted to $13.7 billion, according to the report.
China’s exports to the Islamic Republic in the first half of 2017 also increased by 23 percent compared to the same period in 2016, amounting to $8.8 billion.
The East Asian country’s imports from Iran during the same period grew by 40 percent as well, reaching $9.2 billion. In 2016, China’s imports from Iran stood at $6.5 billion from January to July, the report added.
Back in January 2016, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani held talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Tehran and said, “We predict that the value of economic exchanges between Tehran and Beijing would rise to $600 billion within the next 10 years”.