The value of trade between Iran and China stood at $31 billion in the first ten months of 2013, the Chinese ambassador to Tehran announced.
The two-way trade grew by 5.3 percent in the first ten months of 2013 in comparison to the corresponding time last year, IRNA quoted Chinese Ambassador Yuhang Yang as saying on Monday.
The bilateral trade amount to $36 billion in 2012, the diplomat added.
In December 2013, the Iran-China Joint Chamber of Commerce Chairman Asadollah Asgaroladi announced that the annual trade between Iran and China may reach $38 billion by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2014).
The development of [Iran’s] non-oil exports, [the expansion of] joint ventures, and the enhancement of banking cooperation (through purchasing shares of Chinese banks by Iranian entities) are our main objectives in the chamber of commerce, he explained.
Iran’s non-oil exports to China exceeded $4.5 billion in the first half of the current Iranian calendar year, he said, adding that the figure is hoped to reach $9 billion by the yearend, Asgaroladi stated.
Iran’s trade balance with 96 countries was positive in the first eight months of 2013, according to data released by the Iranian Customs Administration Office.
