Iran–China 25-year Cooperation Program
Cooperation agreement between Iran and the People's Republic of China signed in March 2021 / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Iran–China 25-year Cooperation Program or Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between I.R. Iran, P.R. China[2] is a 25-year cooperation agreement on the further development of Iran–China relations signed in Tehran by the Chinese and Iranian foreign ministers on 27 March 2021; the final details of the agreement have yet to be officially announced. Under a draft of the 25-year agreement (signed on 24 June 2020 in Beijing)[3][4] previously obtained by The New York Times, China is to invest US$400 billion in Iran's economy over that time period in exchange for a steady and heavily-discounted supply of oil from Iran.[5][6][7] The key details of the deal were originally reported by British journalist and author, Simon Watkins, in an article published on 3 September 2019 in Petroleum Economist stating that the agreement includes up to $280 billion towards developing Iran's oil, gas and petrochemicals sectors and another investment of $120 billion towards upgrading Iran's transportation and manufacturing infrastructure.[8][9] According to Iranian authorities, reviving the Chinese One Belt One Road Initiative is also part of the agreement.[10]
China–Iran Comprehensive Strategic Partnership | |
---|---|
Created | 27 March 2021 |
Location | Tehran, Iran |
Signatories | People's Republic of China Islamic Republic of Iran |
Purpose | Agreement in all areas of bilateral relations and regional and international issues[1] |
The report by Petroleum Economist stated that, according to the agreement, "China will be able to buy any and all Iranian oil, gas and petrochemical products at a minimum guaranteed discount of 12pc to the six-month rolling mean price of comparable benchmark products, plus another 6pc to 8pc of that metric for risk-adjusted compensation." The same report added that the agreement would allow China to deploy security personnel on the ground in Iran to protect Chinese projects, and that there would be additional personnel and materiel available to protect the eventual transit of oil, gas, and petrochemicals supplies from Iran to China, where necessary, including through the Persian Gulf.[11]
Later reports in other publications added that the deal included the leasing of Iranian islands to China were categorically denied by Iranian authorities, including by the Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who stated "such a deal doesn't even exist, let alone have articles", and that "we have not handed over a [single square] meter of [our] land to China or any other country, nor granted any foreign country the exclusive right to take advantage of a handspan of Iran’s soil, and will not do this [in the future]”.[12] Later on, the spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry confirmed to reporters that "there is no handing over of the Iranian islands, no presence of military forces and no other illusions". Reports regarding heavily-discounted Iranian oil and petrochemical sales were also denied.[13][14]
Based on the agreement, China has agreed to inject $300-$400 billion[15] by foreign direct investment into the Iranian oil, gas and petrochemical industries.[16]
The original plan for cooperation had been proposed by Chinese leader Xi Jinping during a 2016 visit to Iran.[7] Iranian president Hassan Rouhani signed the final draft of the program on June 23 in a cabinet meeting and ordered the Iranian foreign ministry to finalize the negotiations. As of July 2020[update], Iran's parliament has yet to pass the deal but will likely follow suit.[7] On 1 October 2020 President Rouhani sent a message to Xi Jinping about signing off on the program.[17]