Trade between Iran and China exceeded $45 billion, said the Iranian ambassador to Beijing on Wednesday. Speaking while visiting Iran’s handicrafts fair in Beijing, Mehdi Safari said the Chinese market is a favorite destination for Iranian commodities such as handicrafts and carpet, IRNA reported. He explained that close to 700 million out of 1.35 billion Chinese citizens live in cities, of which 400 million have a high purchasing power.
Stressing that China is a proper substitute for the US and European markets, he said with the continued participation of Iranian businessmen in the Chinese market, exports of handicrafts and carpets can fetch $1billion. He put the value of bilateral trade at $29 billion in 2010. The figure, he said, exceeded $45 billion in 2011, of which over $4.5 billion pertained to non-oil exports. Safari hoped that the officials of the ministry of Industries, mines and trade as well as Iran Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization will pay more attention to the Chinese market.
Iran’s two-week handicrafts fair which kicked off concurrent with the start of Chinese New Year, was warmly received by Chinese citizens.