• President Ebrahim Raisi of Iran will be leading a sizable team to China.
• He is anticipated to leave Tehran late on Monday.
• Iran’s now-successful application to join the organization.

President Ebrahim Raisi of Iran will be leading a sizable team to China at President Xi Jinping’s invitation, and he is anticipated to leave Tehran late on Monday.

According to Iranian official media, Raisi will be visiting the Asian economic power for the first time as president and for the first time in 20 years.

On the sidelines of the SCO conference in Uzbekistan in September, Raisi and Xi had their first encounter as presidents.

Iran’s now-successful application to join the organization as a full member had China’s support.

The Iranian president, who took office in August 2021, is travelling with a large delegation that includes the newly appointed governor of the central bank.

This delegation highlights the Iranian president’s top priorities for the trip.

The group also includes six members of Raisi’s cabinet, including the ministers of the economy, petroleum, foreign affairs, trade, transport and urban development, and agriculture.

In an opinion piece that was published on Monday in a prestigious Chinese journal, Raisi expressed his support for strengthening bilateral ties.

After Raisi and Xi meet, there will be negotiations between the delegations, which are anticipated to result in the signing of a number of agreements in front of the presidents.

The primary objective of the trip, according to Mohammad Jamshidi, Raisi’s political affairs deputy, was to “finalize the operational processes” of the 25-year comprehensive cooperation deal that the two nations inked in 2021.

Early in 2022, foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said that the deal had reached the implementation stage.

However, as long as Iran is still subject to severe US sanctions, no significant contracts or projects have been disclosed under the pact.

According to an Iranian investment official, China made just $162 million in economic investments in Iran during the first year of Raisi’s administration, less than both Afghanistan and Turkey combined.

However, China continues to be Iran’s top trading partner; according to Iranian customs figures for the first 10 months of the current Iranian calendar year, which ends in March, Iran purchased $12.7 billion from China and exported $12.6 billion.

Despite US sanctions, China also continues to purchase oil from Iran, though specific amounts are kept secret.

Iran’s oil exports reportedly reached new highs in the final two months of 2022 and had a solid beginning to 2023, according to many companies that watch data.

China has indicated it supports Iran’s application to join the influential BRICS bloc, which also includes Russia, Brazil, India, China, and South Africa.

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