By Lu Jin

Research fellow of IWAAS

China and Iran are two ancient civilizations located in Eastern and Western Asia respectively. The friendship of the two countries dates back to over 2000 years ago. The opening of the Silk Road ushered in a new era of Sino-Iranian relationship. The material and cultural exchanges between the two countries facilitated the integration of Eastern and Western culture, thus making significant contribution to the progress of human civilization. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Iran in 1971, the political, economic and cultural exchanges between the two countries have been on the increase day by day. Today, further development of the state relations in a comprehensive way and strengthening understanding and mutual trust is a common pursuit of the government and people of both countries.

I. The Ancient Silk Road- A Bridge of Friendship

China is one of the first countries in the world to keep silkworms. In the fifth century BC, China’s silk products started to be introduced westwards to ancient Greek and Rome through Persia (referred to as ‘Anxi’ in China’s historical records) in West Asia. According to historical records, from 138 BC to 126 BC, Zhang Qian, an imperial envoy, ordered by Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty, traveled to the Western Region and opened up a road transport route connecting Chang’an in the east and Rome, Italy in the west. At the beginning, China’s silk was the most famous products transported through this main transport route traversing Eurasia. Thus the route was named ‘Silk Road’. Persia, the transportation hub located at the intersection of Europe, Asia and Africa became an important post house at the Silk Road promoting the material and cultural interaction of eastern and western regions.

In 119 BC, Zhang Qian made his second visit to the Western Region and sent his deputy to visit Persia. At that time, the Sakas were in a major relocation. To secure a safe arrival of the Chinese envoys, Anxi dispatched 20,000 cavalry soldiers to receive the envoys from Merv (today’s Mary in Turkmenistan) and escort them for thousands of kilometers until they reach the capital city Fandou (near today’s Shahrud). The Chinese envoys were warmly received on their arrival by the Persian government and people. After that, Persia sent its envoys to China for a visit with the Chinese envoys. The friendly exchanges between the Chinese and Persian government made the Silk Road an even smoother one, bustling with merchants.

In 97 AD, General Ban Chao was dispatched by Emperor Hanhe of the Eastern Han dynasty to visit the Western Region. Ban Chao sent his deputy Gan Ying to visit Rome (also known as Daqin). In 101, Persian Emperor Manqu sent his envoy to pay a return visit to China. Lions and unicorns were presented to China as a testimony of friendship. The pronunciation of ‘lion’ in Chinese was borrowed from that in Persian. In 148, the son of Emperor Manchu, An Shigao, a dignitary monk, traveled to China and stayed in China for years. He was very knowledgeable about astronomy, geography and medicine, and was accomplished in Sanskrit. During his stay in China, he learned and mastered Chinese, and was engaged in translation. Through the translation of 39 works including Yoga-carya-bhu^mi-su^tra，he made significant contributions to the prevalence of Buddhism and Sino-Persian cultural exchanges.

From the second to the fifth century, China and Persia were both in wars. The instability of the domestic political situation severely affected the intergovernmental exchanges between the two countries while the nonofficial contact continued. In the Northern Wei Dynasty, the intergovernmental exchanges between China and Persia were resumed. Diplomatic envoys of both countries frequently exchanged visits. According to the Book of Wei, from 455 to 522, the Persian Emperor sent envoys to China dozens of times and China also made return visits. According to the Persian historical record, Emperor Peroz I(459-483) and Emperor Kavadh I(501-531) of the Sassanid Empire both visited China. A Chinese princess was married to the Emperor Khosrau I as the Empress. Both Chinese historical document and the Persian Shahnameh recorded the history that Emperor Khosrau Anushirvan applied to the Northern Zhou dynasty of China for help to fight against and finally defeated the Turks. Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty sent a mission headed by Li Yi to visit Persia, which also sent its envoys to pay a return visit to China with Li Yi.

The Tang Dynasty was a golden age for the development of Sino-Iranian relationship. The cultural exchanges between the two sides reached the zenith. During the end of the Sui Dynasty and the beginning of the Tang dynasty, Emperor Yazdgerd III (532-651) of the Sassanid Empire was defeated by the invading Arabian and died in Merv. The Sassanid Empire broke apart. In 651 AD, Pirooz, the son of Emperor Yazdgerd III, led other members of the imperial family and his followers to seek asylum in Chang’an, the capital city of Tang Dynasty. They were warmly received by Tang. Pirooz even set up a government in exile in Chang’an and built a Zoroastrianism Temple. He died in Chang’an. Among the stone statues found in the mausoleum of Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu Zetian of the Tang Dynasty, one is a statue of Prince Pirooz. China’s Prime Turtle of the Record Bureau recorded that from 647-762, Persia sent envoys to China for 28 times. In order to stay away from the wars, thousands of Persians and their descendants moved to and stayed in China’s Chang’an, Quanzhou, Guangzhou and Yangzhou, etc. in the Tang dynasty. Some of them were offered very senior positions by Tang. A general of Tabārestān sent his son to China in 754, who stayed in the Tang dynasty and was conferred general in China. In 658, a Persian Chief came to China and became an official of Tang. He was sent to visit Eastern Rome as an envoy by Emperor Gao Zong of Tang, also known as Li Zhi. He was conferred general because of his significant contribution. Li Yuanliang, a famous general of Tang, was one of the Persian descendants living in China. His brother Li Xun was a poet in late Tang, whose works were included in the Complete Tang Poems. Li Xun’s Oversea Materia Medica is one of the reference books of Li Shizhen’s Compendium of Materia Medica. Li Shunxuan, Li Yuanliang’s sister, was also a poet and well-known female drawers of late Tang.

During the Song dynasty, the Silk Road was blocked due to the warfare. Maritime transportation gradually developed. Lots of Persian merchants came by sea to places like Guangzhou, Yangzhou, Hangzhou and Quanzhou in China for business. They mainly transport such goods as silk, jewels, medicines, china and spices. Some of them even settled down in China. Trade between China and Persia expanded constantly through this Sea Silk Road (also referred to as Sea Porcelain Road or Sea Spices Road). Song is one of the dynasties in the Chinese history which enjoyed the most prosperous economy, the most developed science and technology, the most flourishing culture, the most developed art and the highest level of people’s living standard. The level of navigation, shipbuilding, medication, craftsmanship agricultural technology etc. reached a historical high. Most of the ocean ships started to be equipped with compasses. Techniques of printing, weaving，and gunpowder, paper money and porcelain making were improved. The four great inventions of ancient China and China’s porcelain, medical science and herbal medicine were introduced to other places in the world through the sea trade route.

In 1253, the troops of Genghis Khan’s Mongol Empire invaded Persia. Genghis Khan’s third grandson Hulagu Khan established the Ilkhanate. His eldest grandson Kublai Khan started the Yuan dynasty in China. Yuan became the nominal suzerain of Ilkhanate. Therefore, exchanges of visits became very frequent between the Chinese and Persian envoys. Sino-Iranian friendship flourished once again. The Yuan Empire Kublai Khan married Princess Kuo Kuo Zhen to the Persian Empire, leading to a considerable increase in the amount of tribute and largess. According to historical record, in Yuan dynasty, China’s techniques of money printing were introduced to Persia. In 1294, Persia printed and issued paper money in the way China did and borrowed the Chinese words ‘paper money’. A few Chinese characters could be found on Persia’s paper money. The Ilkhanate era was another period with flourishing Sino-Persian cultural exchanges. Some Chinese scholars were invited to work in the Ilkhanate, and Persian doctors came to China to serve the Yuan court. They not only introduced to Persia China’s achievement in medicine, mathematics and astronomical reckoning, but also brought large numbers of Islamic scientific books from the Western Region to China. This was an excellent contribution to the exchanges between the eastern and western culture. Rashīd al-Dīn Fazl Allāh, an excellent politician and historian of the Ilkhanate, was the first Sinologist in the Western Region. He made great effort in the introduction and popularization of the Chinese culture. He invited Chinese doctors to work in the Rashīd al-Dīn Fazl Allāh town (a cultural center at that time) and organized the translation of Chinese medical books. He also provided Chinese language education to the Persians. Rashid also wrote his own books, such as Jāmi‘al-Tavārīkh, Tanksūqnāma-i Il-khān dar Funūn-i ‘ Ulūm-i Khatāyī, Ãsār va Ahyā and Shu ‘ab-i panjgāna, which were handed down for generations. These books covered fields like China’s medical science, history, geography, language, writing, horticulture, and science and technology etc. Sayyid Ajjal Shams al-Din Omar, also a Persian, took important administrative and financial positions for 25 years during the Yuan dynasty. He was regarded an outstanding political reformer. In 1274, Shams al-Din was appointed the provincial governor of Yunnan. He made great success in the six years serving as the provincial governor. Shams al-Din not only made great contributions to the economic and cultural development of Yunnan, but also effectively maintained the stability and unity of China’s southwest border area and promoted the development of Hui Muslims and Islam in Yunnan.

In the Ming dynasty, due to the development of marine technology, exchanges between China and Persia became more convenient and frequent. Emperor Chenzu of the Ming dynasty and Prince Shahrukh Bahadur of Persia exchanged visits of large-scale delegations composed of 300 and 500 members respectively to discuss issues of bilateral trade and protection of merchants. Both Ming History and Shahrukh Bahadur’s Biography recorded the edict given to Shahrukh Bahadur by Emperor Chengzu of Ming. The Persian book A Persian Embassy to China recorded the grand visit paid by Prince Shahrukh Bahadur in 1419 with a good-will delegation composed of over 500 scholars, officials and celebrities. Chinese envoy Chen Cheng wrote a book Travel in the Western Region after his visit to Persia. Early Ming witnessed the most rapid development of the Sea Silk Route. During three of his seven expeditions to the Western Oceans, Admiral Zheng He visited Hormuz at the Persia Gulf. Envoys accompanying Zheng He gave a detailed description of Persian customs and tradition in their books such as The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores, Description of the Starry Raft and  Hsi-Yü Fan-Kuo Chih. In 1516, Persian traveler Ali Akber wrote a book China Travel Note, keeping a detailed record of his journey to China. In the 17^th century, Muhammad Zaman, a Persian who travel to India, was fascinated by Matteo Ricci’s The Journals of Matthew Ricci and translated part of the book about China to Persian, which he named Chinese History. Through its ten chapters, the book introduced to Persian readers China’s history, culture, natural resources, political system, economic situation as well as customs and traditions. This book is often referred to by Iranian Sinologists.

During the reign of the Qing dynasty, China’s exchanges with Persia were mainly limited to the non-official level due to Qing’s seclusion from the outside world.

Persian religions were introduced to China at a relatively early stage. According to historical records, in 6^th century BC, Zoroastrianism, the national religion of ancient Persian Empire was introduced to Northern Wei dynasty of China and was referred to as ‘Ao Jiao’ in China. Empress Dowager Ying of Northern Wei was one of the first to believe in this religion. Followers of this religion could be found in the Northern Qi, Northern Zhou, Sui and Tang dynasties. Ao Jiao temples were also built in the two capital cities of ancient Chinese dynasties, one in the east and one in the west. Nestorianism is a branch of Christianity, wich didn’t originate from Persia. But Persia used to be the base of practice of Nestorianism. In 635, Nestorianism was introduced to China because of the friendly relationship between Persia and China, and was welcomed by Li Shimin, the Taizong Emperor of Tang. In China, Nestorianism was referred to as ‘Jing Jiao’. Ode to the Monument of Nestorianism’s Popularity in China, now kept in Xi’an, kept a record of how popular Jing Jiao was in the Tang dynasty.

Manicheism，a Persian religion created in the 3^rd century, was also introduced to China. Around 694, Persian Manichees went to preach in China, bringing with them the doctrines of shāpurgān. Manichaean churches, also known as Dayunming Temples, were built in Chang’an, Luoyang, Taiyuan, Zhenjiang and Quanzhou. Today, relics of ancient Manicheism could still be found in Quanzhou, Fujian.

Through the material exchanges of the two countries, China’s products like silk, china, tea, coptis, Glabrous Greenbrier Rhizome, ginger, cinnamon, mulberry and millet were introduced to Persia. Persia’s alfalfa, spinach, pistachio, sesame, fig, almond, fennel, camphire, benzoin and lion were brought to China. China’s science and technologies such as silkworm breeding, gunpowder, compass, paper making, printing and copper smelting spread to Central Asia, South Asia and Europe through the Silk Road. In the meantime, astronomy, calendar, mathematics, medical science, music, fine arts, and religion from countries in Central and Southern Asia and Europe were introduced to China. In this process of the interaction of different civilizations, much is credited to ancient Persia, the country located at the transport hub. The traditional friendship between China and Persia enhanced the understanding and integration of different countries, nations and people of different belief in the east and west. It was also a bridge linking ancient Chinese, Indian, Arab, Persian and Greek cultures, and had made great contribution to the progress of human civilization.

II. Contemporary Sino-Iranian Relationship：A Continuation of Traditional Friendship

1．Ongoing stable bilateral political relations 

In June 1920, the Qajar Empire of Persia signed the China-Persia Treaty of Friendship with the Chinese Kuomintang government. In 1933, The Pahlavi dynasty set up a consulate in Shanghai. And an embassy was set up in Chongqing in September in 1944. In the 1950s and 1960s, Sino-Iranian relationship was at a low ebb. The Iranian[1] government followed the US in keeping diplomatic relations with the Kuomintang government of Taiwan. When the issue of restoring China’s legitimate seat in the UN was deliberated at successive UN assemblies, Iran voted in favor of ‘not to consider the issue of China's representation’. In May 1958, the Emperor of Pahlavi visited Taiwan. In the early 1970s, the improvement of Sino-US relationship boosted the development of Sino-Iranian relationship. In April 1971, Princess Ashraf and Princess Fatima of Iran visited China one after another, conveying Iran’s wish of developing friendship with China. On 16 August 1971, China and Iran signed the Joint Communiqué on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between China and Iran. Since then, the People’s Republic of China and Iran formally established diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level. Iran has recognized the People’s Republic of China as the ‘sole legitimate government of China’ and stopped its official ties with the Taiwan Authority.

Sino-Iranian relationship maintained smooth development since the establishment of diplomatic relations. The two governments kept frequent exchanges of visits. On 20 August 1971, Mr. Zhang Tong, Special Envoy of the Chinese Government and Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan, attended on invitation the 2500^th anniversary of the Persian Empire. In September 1972, the Queen of Iran visited China, accompanied by her mother and the Prime Minister Hoveyda. Prince Ghulam, the eldest of the Emperor’s younger brothers, and Speaker of the Senate Emami both visited China. Chinese Premier Hua Guofeng visited Iran on invitation in August 1978, not long before the Pahlavi government was overthrown.

After the success of Iran’s Islamic revolution in 1979, China was one of the first countries to formally recognize the Islamic Republic of Iran. However, the new government viewed Hua Guofeng’s visit to Iran as support to the Pahlavi. Iran was also influenced by the diplomacy of ‘neither East nor West’ and believed big powers only wanted to exploit Iran’s resources when dealing with Iran. Therefore, Sino-Iranian relationship was once at a low level.

After the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq war, the increasingly isolated Islamic regime adjusted its domestic and foreign policies and sought actively to develop relations with the Third World countries in order to get out of the difficult situation. During his visit to China in September 1983, Iranian Foreign Minister Velayati signed the Sino-Iranian Agreement on Cultural, Scientific and Technical Cooperation. Exchanges of high level visits have been restored since then and dozens of bilateral agreements and MOUs were signed. The agreements and MOUs signed covered such fields as politics, economy and trade, culture, science and technology, industry, agriculture and tax collection. They have laid a foundation for strengthening both official and nonofficial cooperation in many areas and have effectively enhanced the sustained and stable development of Sino-Iranian relationship. In 2000, President Khatami's visit to China pushed the friendship of the two countries to a new high. During the President’s visit, the two countries issued a joint communiqué, agreeing on ‘raising the level of bilateral cooperation, opening up new prospects for bilateral relations and forming long-term, stable, extensive and friendly cooperation, based on the principles of mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, equality and mutual benefit and peaceful coexistence’.

Since the founding of the Islamic Republic of Iran, senior Iranian officials who have visited China include: Speaker of Iranian Islamic parliament Rafsanjani (June 1985); President Khamenei (current supreme leader, May 1989); Speaker Karubi (December 1991, December 2002); President Rafsanjani (September 1992); First Vice President Habibi (August 1994); Vice President Hashemi(November 1999); President Mohammad Khatami (June 2000); Vice President Setarifar (April 2004); Vice President Ebtekar（July 2004）; President Ahmadinejad - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (attending the Summit Meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in June 2006 and attending the opening ceremony of the Beijing Paralymic Games in 2008). Chinese leaders who visited Iran are: Chairman of National People's Congress (NPC) Wan Li (May 1990); Premier Li Peng (July 1991); President Yang Shangkun (October 1991); Vice Premier Li Lanqing (July 1993, May 1997); Vice Premier and Foreign Minister Qian Qichen (March 1994); Chairman of NPC Qiao Shi (November 1996); Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan(February 2000); Vice President Hu Jintao (January 2001); State Councilor Wu Yi (March 2002); Vice Chairman of NPC Jiang Zhenghua (as head of a delegation of Chinese Association for International Understanding in February 2001); President Jiang Zemin (April 2002); Vice Chairman of NPC Han Qide (December 2003).

Since the beginning of the 21^st Century, Iran has adopted a ‘Look East’ policy, emphasizing China’s role as a major power. It recognizes China’s significant achievement scored since reform and opening-up and calls for learning from China’s experiences in reform and actively expanding the scope of cooperation with China. The Foreign Ministries of the two countries have established political consultation mechanism, which has facilitated their communication on major regional and international issues. The Iranian Parliament has set up the Iran China Friendship Association to promote the exchanges and cooperation between the Iranian Parliament and China’s NPC. Party-to-Party exchanges have also been on the increase in the recent years.

An important reason for the Sino-Iranian relationship to have maintained long-term stability and development in the complicated international environment is that both countries share similar stance and viewpoint on a number of major international issues and have supported and helped each other in times of difficulty. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, Iran has been adhering firmly to the One China Policy, supporting China’s national unity and opposing Taiwan independence. When the US and other Western Countries started the sanctions and isolation on China after the 1989 Tian’anmen Square Incident, Iran received from China Chairman Wan Li of the NPC, Premier Li Peng of the State Council and Chairman Yang Shangkun of the NPC as they visited Iran one after another. Similarly, during the Iran-Iraq War, China accepted Iran’s request to buy weapon from China. As the US stigmatized Iran as a Rogue State, a member of the Axis of Evil and a State Sponsor of Terrorism, China didn’t join the US but maintained its exchanges of high level visits and friendly cooperation with Iran. For some time, Iran has been antagonized by the West and isolated in the international community due to the nuclear issues. China, despite the opposition from the US, invited President Ahmadinejad to attend the 2006 Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit held in Shanghai and the opening ceremony of the 2008 Paralympic Games held in Beijing. During Iran’s nuclear crisis, China constantly adhered to its principle of an independent stance and actively participated in the coordination and consultation of the international community represented by such major powers as US, EU and Russia. China called on all parties concerned to remain calm, restrained and patient. It worked actively for a proper resolution of Iran’s nuclear issue through peaceful negotiation and collaborated with Russia on greatly weakening the UN Security Council’s sanction on Iran. In addition, China carried out satisfactory communication, coordination and cooperation with Iran, making good use of Sino-Iran friendship and the political consultation mechanism. China also, on different occasions and through different channels, persuaded Iran to take the concerns of the international community seriously, maintain communication and cooperation with IAEA and other parties concerned to mitigate the adverse external environment.

During his two visits to China, President Ahmadinejad, a controversial figure in the international community, was received with courtesy and met by the Chinese state leaders. When meeting with President Ahmadinejad in 2006, President Hu Jintao expressed the wish to constantly expand bilateral cooperation through concerted efforts of both sides. President Hu also put forward a three-point proposal of strengthening political consultation, deepening economic cooperation and promoting civilized dialogue. President Ahmadinejad believed that strengthening the cooperation of the two countries in various fields was not only in line with the interests of the two countries and two peoples, but also conducive to peace and stability in the region and the world at large. In another meeting with President Ahmadinejad in September 2008, President Hu Jintao expressed his gratitude for the valuable support provided to China by the Iranian government and people after the Wenchuan Sichuan Earthquake. President Hu also said that Sino-Iranian relationship witnessed new development in recent years with deeper mutual understanding, a good momentum of economic and trade cooperation and a smooth start in anti-drug, counter-terrorism and regional security cooperation. President Hu pointed out that China cherished its traditional friendship with Iran and was ready to work together with Iran constantly to push forward state relations on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit. Hu further said that China wished to strengthen political exchanges with Iran, consolidate the traditional friendship, and maintain communication and contact. Both countries should tap into their economic potentials, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, maintain the momentum of trade, foster new growth point of bilateral cooperation, strengthen international cooperation and work together to maintain peace and stability in the region and the world at large. President Ahmadinejad pointed out that both Iran and China were ancient civilizations and strengthening exchanges and cooperation was a common wish of both countries. He also said that cooperation in such field as economy, trade and culture was going on smoothly with a great potential and that Iran hoped to develop its friendly cooperation with China at the bilateral level and in international and regional affairs.

2．Complementary bilateral economic and trade ties 

The foreign trade pattern of a country reflects its diplomacy and level of socio-economic development in a certain period. Not long after the establishment of the Islamic administration, Iran was confronted with economic sanctions imposed by the western countries led by the US. Very soon the Iran-Iraq war broke out. For a certain period of time, Iran, the once powerful economy in the Middle East, was faced with a series of problems such as commodity shortage, poor oil export and a sudden drop of foreign exchange revenue.  In face of the economic difficulties, Iran, the country which used to admire and trust western products, turned to the friendly China, making it possible for the Chinese enterprises to enter the Iranian market. In 1983, China National Chemicals Import & Export Corporation (today’s SINOCHEM) found its way to the Iranian market, taking advantage of the US oil embargo against Iran. Through the cooperation with Iran in oil entrepot trade, the Corporation not only brought considerable foreign exchange revenue to the country, but also helped Iran out of its pressing difficulty of oil overstock. In 1985, the two countries set up the Joint Committee on Cooperation of Economy, Trade, Science and Technology, which effectively promoted further development of bilateral economic and trade relations. Sino-Iranian military cooperation further deepened the friendship between the peoples of the two countries. Today, quite a number of the political and military figures who have experienced the US sanctions and Iran-Iraq war have become the Presidents of big Iranian SOEs. Some of them often favor Chinese enterprises in project bidding.

The year 1990 saw the end of the decade-long clearing account trade between China and Iran, which ushered in a new phase of economic and trade ties of the two countries. Post-war Iran was in desperate need of resource exploitation, infrastructure improvement and development of relevant industries such as oil, gas, power generation, telecommunication and transportation. Although there were abundant human and natural resources in Iran, the country was short of capital, advanced technology, equipment and management experience. In the meantime, China’s economy developed rapidly. A large number of Chinese enterprises with international advanced technology and management experience started to go abroad. Through relentless effort, more and more Chinese enterprises have found their way to the Iranian market after overcoming numerous difficulties. Now Iran has become one of China’s major overseas markets of project contracting, technology transfer and export of complete sets of equipment.

Since the end of the 1990s, the economic and trade relations of the two countries entered the phase of rapid development. Bilateral trade volume increased by great margin every year as political mutual trust strengthened and the quality and after-sales service of the Chinese products improved. Bilateral trade volume was increased from 3.74205 billion USD in 2002 to 15billion USD in 2006, 20.5 billion USD in 2007 and 30.5 billion USD in 2008. Currently, Sino-Iranian economic and trade cooperation covers the following nine major fields: rail transit, oil and gas, power plants construction, telecommunications, chemical industry, non-ferrous metallurgy, highways construction, ship building, and automobile and motorcycle assembly. Among all these, the most remarkable achievement has been made in technology and resource cooperation. Iran has become one of China’s biggest trade partners in West Asia and the Gulf Region.

Iran is an ideal market of large-scale project contracting for Chinese enterprises and China is a major destination of Iran’s oil and gas export. The high complementarity of the two economies has brought about the rapid development of bilateral economic and trade cooperation. As a major energy country in the world, Iran is very important in China’s energy security strategy. China has become a net oil importing country since 1994 and started to import crude oil from Iran by large quantity. In 2002, the two countries signed the Long-term Agreement on Crude Oil Trade, making Iran one of China’s major crude oil suppliers. By the end of 2007, China had imported 102 million tons of crude oil from Iran accumulatively, with a trade volume of over 30 billion USD. In light of China’s constantly increasing demand on energy brought by sustained economic growth and the need of securing future energy security of the country, the recent years have seen the Chinese enterprises going more extensive in the Iranian market to participate in energy cooperation with Iran, despite repeated US impediment and threat. With the support of both governments, contracts of cooperation in large scale energy projects have been signed. These contracts allow Sinopec to cooperate with National Iranian Oil Company in the exploitation of Yadavaran oil and gas field, China National Petroleum Corporation to exploit Azadegan oil field and China National Offshore Oil Corporation to exploit Northern Pars oil and gas field. Chinese energy enterprises have scored great success in risk analysis, development and engineering service of oil field, construction and renovation of oil refineries, and gas development and liquidification. Currently, the total value of the projects that are being implemented or to be implemented has exceeded 10 billion US dollars. Over 100 projects are still being negotiated, with a total value of over 40 billion euros. [2]

Iran has accumulated large amount of foreign exchange due to the high international oil price in the past. It has been looking for opportunities to invest overseas to maintain and increase the value of its foreign exchange reserve. It has been promoting the international integration of the oil industry and investing in the down stream field of the oil industry in countries that have relatively greater potential in oil and gas import, in a bid to increase the future market share of Iranian oil and gas industry. China has a great potential in the import of oil and gas. But the country needs to speed up in the improvement of oil refining and storage and the transportation facilities for oil and gas, hence a huge demand in investment. That is why Iran has identified opportunities in the Chinese market. On 9^th March 2009, National Iranian Oil Company officially launched its Beijing office. Energy cooperation between the two countries has strengthened their mutual trust. It is conducive to ensuring energy import security for China and energy export security for Iran. It helps to realize the complementarity and a win-win scenario for both countries’ strategic interests.

All in all, economic and trade cooperation between China and Iran has born rich fruit thanks to the favorable political relations. China’s top three power plant equipments manufacturers (Shanghai Electric Group, Harbin Power Plant Equipment Corporation and Sichuan Dongfang Electric Corperation), top three petroleum companies (CNPC, Sinopec and CNOOC), top four telecommunication equipment manufacturers (ZTE, Huawei, Datang and FiberHome) and top six military suppliers have gained a foothold in Iran. Currently, dozens of Chinese institutions have set up representative offices in Tehran.

3．Dynamic Bilateral Cultural Exchanges   

The ancient Silk Road have been serving as a bridge of cultural exchanges between China and Iran, making it possible for China and Iran to communicate and share their culture and art. In the thirty plus years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, the traditional friendship between China and Iran has been strengthened. There have been constant cultural exchanges at various levels through both official and non-official channels. In September 1983, the two countries signed the Agreement on Sino-Iranian Cultural, Scientific and Technical Cooperation, leading the cultural cooperation and exchanges between the two countries to a new phase. By 2003, the two countries had signed seven implementation plans for cultural cooperation. In accordance with these annual implementation plans, extensive cooperation has been carried out in the fields of culture, art, science and technology, education, health care, sports, radio and TV, and the promotion of interests for workers, youth and women, which further enhanced the development of state relations. Many cities of the two countries have expressed their sincere wishes to twin with a sister city in the other country. Up to now, Isfahan has been twinned with Xi’an (agreement signed in May 1989) and Shiraz has been twinned with Chongqing (October 2005).

The recent years have witnessed rapid increase in the academic exchanges in science, technology, culture and education, as well as in such folk art as movie, painting, music, acrobatics and puppet shows. Some large scale cultural exchange programs with relatively greater influence have been organized one after another. China organized in Iran a number of exhibitions including Painting and Crafts Exhibition, Holiday Lantern and New Year Paintings Exhibition, China Art Exhibition, Wall Hangings Exhibition and Chinese Crafts Show, as well as other activities like Chinese Culture Week and a seminar of Dialogue of Civilizations. Iran also held Iranian Paintings Exhibition, Children’s Paintings Exhibition and Miniature Paintings Exhibition in China and organized Iranian Culture Week in Beijing and Shanghai respectively. Iranian master of miniature painting, Ostad Mahmoud Farshchian, held exhibitions of his works in Beijing and Hefei. Moreover, both countries have taken the initiative to send people to participate in the international cultural activities held in the other country. Professionals from both countries have conducted frequent exchanges through participating in academic conferences. Non-official exchanges between the sports groups and coaches, academic groups and journalists groups etc have been gaining momentum. These culture exchange programs are very popular with people of both countries and have strengthened mutual understanding and friendship between people of the two countries.

As a result of Sino-Iranian economic and trade cooperation, language exchanges between the two countries have become more frequent since the end of 1980s. The ever increasing number of cooperation projects between China and Iran and the fact that Iran has become one of the focuses of international attention have brought about the upsurge in China to study the language, literature, history and facts of Iran. More emphasis has been put on the education of Persian speaking personnel. Following Peking University and Luoyang Foreign Languages University, Shanghai International Studies Universtiy, Communication University of China, Yunnan University and Beijing Foreign Studies University started recruiting Persian Studies majors one after another. Peking University, Shanghai International Studies University and Yunnan University also opened Center for Iranian Studies. With the support from the Iranian side, China issued in 2000 the Classic Literature of Iran (a total of 18 volumes), bringing the best of the world renowned Persian literature to the Chinese readers. In the same year, during his visit to China, Iranian President Mohammad Khatami presented honorary awards signed by himself to Chinese professors and scholars such as Mr. Zhang Hongnian, recognizing and commending the achievement scored in China-Iranian cultural exchanges.

As China’s economy develops rapidly, China’s experience in reform and opening up is getting more attention from the Iranian government. Chinese commodities are now common in the Iranian market. With the completion and operation of the Tehran subway system, Made in China has become a recognized brand in the hearts of the Iranians. The Iranians started to pay attention to China and rediscover China and the Chinese people. This has aroused the enthusiasm of the Iranians to study China and the Chinese language. As a result of the increasing number of Iranians wishing to learn Chinese, the Chinese Studies Department of the Beheshtee University could no longer meet the demand. Many Iranian institutions put forward their request to China in the creation of Chinese language schools and short term training courses. In January 2009, the Confucius College co-founded by Yunnan University of China and University of Tehran officially opened in Tehran, opening a window for the Iranians from all walks of life, especially the young people, to learn about China and its culture.

In order to facilitate non-governmental exchanges between Iran and China, Iran set up Iran China Friendship Society in November 1999. In December 2008, the Sino-Iranian Friendship Association was established in Beijing, providing a platform for people of both countries to gather. Through this platform, both sides hope to strengthen their mutual understanding and trust, further their comprehensive cooperation, and work hard to find out solutions to problems in current cooperation.

III. Sino-Iranian Relations：A Comprehensive Evaluation

The current Sino-Iranian relations are better than ever. China and Iran share the wish of enhancing traditional friendship and expanding cooperation. Iran emphasizes China’s status as one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and its role in the international community. It also needs China’s support and help on the nuclear issue. The rapid development of its economy makes China the ideal cooperation partner for Iran to get capital, technology, equipment and experience. For China, the favorable relationship with Iran is conducive to its economic development. Iran’s rich reserve in energy serves as a guarantee to China’s sustainable development and the huge market in Iran is a perfect destination for China’s products and technology. Therefore, it is the common wish of the government and people of both countries to further their friendly cooperation in the political, economic and cultural field. The traditional friendship between China and Iran will go down for generations.  

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5．http://www.mfa.gov.cn/chn/gxh/tyb/

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