Iranian leader's visit to further enhance ties

As a sign of the reinforced high-level contact between Beijing and Teheran, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is set to visit China this week, giving a boost to the two countries' collaboration in areas including the economy and international hot-spot issues, observers said.

At the invitation of President Xi Jinping, Raisi will make a state visit to China from Tuesday to Thursday, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Sunday.

In July and September, the two presidents held a phone talk and had a face-to-face meeting in Uzbekistan's Samarkand, reaching fresh consensus on deepening China-Iran relations, Chinese officials said.

As part of enhanced two-way political ties, the Chinese Consulate General in Iran's port city of Bandar Abbas was officially opened in December. It is China's first consulate general in the Middle East country.

"China-Iran high-level contacts have constantly advanced, and pragmatic cooperation in various fields has continued to deepen," Chinese Ambassador to Iran Chang Hua said last month at a reception.

Trade between China and Iran also maintained positive growth last year.

China continues to be Iran's leading trade partner, largest export destination and second-largest source of imports, according to the Foreign Ministry.

"China's economy keeps unleashing its dynamism and improving steadily, which will provide greater development opportunities for all countries in the world, including Iran," Fu Lihua, charge d'affaires of the Chinese embassy in Teheran, wrote in an article published by the Tehran Times newspaper last week.

Foreign Minister Qin Gang held his first phone conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian last month.

Advancing the two countries' comprehensive cooperation plan and offering support to safeguard each state's sovereignty were high on the agenda.

During their phone talk, the Iranian side said it also appreciated China's "constructive role" in the progress of negotiations on resuming compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the landmark Iran nuclear deal enacted in 2016.