Wang Yi Holds Talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian

On January 14, 2022, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province. The two sides announced the launch of the implementation work of the comprehensive cooperation plan between the two countries.

Wang Yi conveyed President Xi Jinping's greetings to President Ebrahim Raisi. Wang Yi said, in the face of complex and severe challenges over the past year, China and Iran, under the guidance of the two heads of state, took the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties as an opportunity to strengthen solidarity and cooperation and deepen political mutual trust, making new achievements in bilateral relations and writing a new chapter in bilateral friendship. China is willing to work with Iran to fully implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, strengthen communication and coordinate actions, constantly enrich the connotations of China-Iran comprehensive strategic partnership, and open a new 50-year period for the development of bilateral relations.

Wang Yi said, both China and Iran boast a long history of civilization and important influence. Deepening bilateral relations accords with the traditional friendship between the two sides and the interests of the two peoples, forms an integral part of China-Iran comprehensive strategic partnership, and is conducive to maintaining peace and stability in the region and the world at large. China will continue to make utmost efforts to provide vaccines for Iran to help the country defeat the pandemic. China stands ready to enhance communication with Iran to expand cooperation in various fields and push China-Iran comprehensive strategic partnership to a new level.

Abdollahian conveyed President Raisi's sincere greetings to President Xi Jinping. On behalf of President Raisi, Abdollahian said that Iran firmly supports China in safeguarding its core interests, firmly pursues the one-China principle, and highly appreciates and will actively participate in the Belt and Road cooperation. Abdollahian said, developing relations with China is a decision made by Iran's top leaders. Iran speaks highly of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties and the signing of the comprehensive cooperation plan between the two countries last year, and thanks China for providing strong support for Iran in its fight against the pandemic. Iran firmly commits itself to promoting Iran-China cooperation, looks forward to learning from China's development experience and advanced technology, and stands ready to be a trustworthy, long-term and reliable partner of China. Iran firmly supports China in hosting the successful Beijing Olympic Winter Games, and will actively attend the opening ceremony and participate in the competition.

The two sides jointly announced the launch of the implementation work of the 25-year comprehensive cooperation plan between the two countries, and conducted in-depth discussions in this regard. Both sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in energy, infrastructure, production capacity, science and technology, and medical and health care, expand cooperation in agriculture, fisheries and cyber security, as well as tripartite cooperation, deepen cultural and people-to-people exchanges such as education, film and personnel training, so as to deliver more tangible cooperation outcomes.

Wang Yi said, China firmly opposes illegal unilateral sanctions against Iran, political manipulation on human rights and other issues, and gross interference in the internal affairs of Iran and other regional countries. China is willing to work with Iran to continue to firmly support each other in defending respective core interests, hold high the banner of multilateralism, oppose hegemonism and power politics, uphold the basic norms governing international relations and safeguard international fairness and justice. Abdollahian appreciates China's sense of responsibility as a major country and its diplomatic wisdom in international affairs, saying that Iran is willing to jointly oppose bullying acts and unilateral sanctions, and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of both sides.

The two sides exchanged views on the Iranian nuclear situation. Wang Yi said, the ins and outs of the Iranian nuclear issue are plain to see. The United States single-handedly caused the current difficult situation by unilaterally withdrawing from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), so it should bear the main responsibility and redress its mistakes as soon as possible. China will firmly support the process of negotiations on resuming compliance with the JCPOA, and continue to constructively participate in the follow-up negotiations. China hopes that all parties will overcome difficulties, work in the same direction, and adhere to pushing forward the political and diplomatic settlement process. Abdollahian said, Iran stays committed to reaching a package of and stable safeguards agreements through serious negotiations, appreciates the constructive role played by China, and stands ready to maintain close communication with China.

The two sides also exchanged views on the Middle East situation and the Afghan issue, among others. The Chinese side proposes the establishment of a multilateral dialogue platform for the Persian Gulf at an early date to discuss regional countries' security concerns, starting with a political settlement to the Yemen issue, improve relations among all parties, take it into their own hands, and promote regional peace and stability. The Iranian side expressed its willingness to actively improve relations with Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf countries, and also hoped to push the issues such as the one related to Yemen into the track of political settlement as soon as possible.