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                    China, Iran Expand Ties During Xi Visit

   by Nike Ching, William Gallo

   Chinese President Xi Jinping and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani
   called for a "new chapter" in China-Iran relations, as the Chinese
   leader continued an official state visit to Tehran.

   Meeting at the president's residence in Tehran Saturday, the two
   leaders oversaw the signing of 17 agreements aimed at expanding
   diplomatic and economic cooperation.

   The two countries also agreed to boost mutual trade.

   "Today, we discussed strategic relations between the two countries,
   regulating and signing a comprehensive 25-year document and also
   upgrading bilateral ties in the coming 10 years. We decided to increase
   mutual trade up to $600 billion," Rouhani said.
   
   Strategic partnership
   Xi, who is making the first trip to Iran by a Chinese president in 14
   years, said the two sides agreed to form a comprehensive strategic
   partnership.

   "We decided to turn mutual relations into relations that would turn
   into strategic relations, and also issues that joined us. A statement
   on both sides should also take this opportunity in order to further
   upgrade mutual exchanges at different levels and further boost the
   political trust between the two countries," Xi said.

   Later Saturday, Xi will meet with Iran's top leader, Ayatollah Ali
   Khamenei.

   China was a top consumer of Iranian oil even during the three years of
   international sanctions that targeted Iran's nuclear program. Now that
   the sanctions are lifted and Iran is ramping up oil production, that
   relationship could grow further.

   China played a key role in international efforts to roll back sanctions
   against Iran in exchange for Tehran scaling back its nuclear program.
   Ahead of the visit, the U.S. said it hopes Beijing continues to work
   with Washington to ensure Iran does not reconstitute its nuclear
   capabilities.

   Nuclear issue
   "We're certainly not trying to stop [China's] economic or diplomatic
   engagement with Iran. We would just hope that, just as China has played
   a very constructive role throughout this process, that China will
   continue to play that role in all of its engagement with the Iranian
   Government," says U.S. Ambassador Stephan Mull, Lead Coordinator for
   Iran Nuclear Implementation at the State Department.

   The U.S. and China are co-chairing a working group to oversee the new
   design of Iran's heavy-water reactor at Arak so that it will not
   produce weapons-grade plutonium.
   "We expect strong cooperation to continue as we all work together to
   ensure Iran's continued compliance with the [nuclear agreement]," said
   Anna Richey-Allen, a spokesperson from State Department's East Asia and
   Pacific Bureau, on Friday.

   Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action

   China is among the world powers that reached the agreement, the
   so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with Iran last
   July. In that nuclear pact, Tehran pledged to scale back its
   uranium-enriching activities and submit to inspection, in exchange for
   lifting sanctions.

   ''In an op-ed article appearing in an Iranian newspaper and quoted by
   the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Xi said: "China appreciates Iran's
   assurance of not intending to develop nuclear weapons, supports Iran in
   upholding its legitimate rights and interests, and fully recognizes
   Iran's contribution to the conclusion of the Joint Comprehensive Plan
   of Action."

   China has been Iran's biggest trading partner in the past six years,
   according to Xi. Bilateral trade in 2014 was around $52 billion, but
   dropped off last year because of falling oil prices, according to
   Iranian officials.

   Seeking a new international order
   But a key analyst says ties between the two counties go beyond economic
   benefits. Michael Singh of the Washington Institute for Near East
   Policy said both countries share the same goal of "reshaping the
   international order in a way that excludes us more."

   Singh, who served as the National Security Council for Middle Eastern
   affairs from 2005 to 2008, testified before the U.S. Senate Foreign
   Relations Committee on Wednesday. He said that China, "really sees Iran
   as its main strategic partner by virtue of its geographic location, by
   virtue of the fact that it's really the only major power in the region
   which isn't allied with the United States."

   Chinese President Xi's visit to Iran came after a stop in Saudi Arabia
   earlier in the week during that country's heightened tensions with
   Iran.

   A State Department official told VOA the U.S. anticipates that "China
   will join us and others in encouraging all parties to avoid actions
   that escalate sectarian tensions in the region."
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/china-iran-expand-ties-during-xi-visit/3159565.html