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![During his Iran trip, Xi is expected to further push Beijing's plan to create a modern Silk Road [Xinhua]](http://thebricspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/225311484_8-e1395752903606.jpg)
During his Iran trip, Xi is expected to further push Beijing’s plan to create a modern Silk Road [Xinhua]
Xi will be in Iran from January 22-23, the Chinese Foreign Ministry has confirmed.
In Tehran, Xi will hold talks with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani where the two sides will discuss cooperation projects in infrastructure, high-speed rail, natural gas and oil pipelines, according to Chinese state agency Xinhua.
The Chinese leader’s visit comes at a crucial time when western businesses are expected to flock to Iran after the country emerged from years of economic isolation on Saturday when world powers lifted sanctions.
China is keen to avoid a decrease in the substantial volume of trade between Iran and China.
China is Iran’s top oil client and the countries have close ties across the board. China has been Iran’s top trading partner for the past seven years. In 2014, bilateral trade volume exceeded $50 billion, some 15 times larger than that of the 1990s.
Iran, a key regional power with a population of 80 million, has also announced its readiness to join the ambitious Silk Road and Belt project of China. The Silk Road connected China and Europe from around 100 B.C.
A Xinhua map shows the Chinese plans for the Silk Road run through Central China to the northern Xinjiang from where it travels through Central Asia entering Kazakhstan and onto Iraq, Iran, Syria and then Istanbul in Turkey from where it runs across Europe cutting across Germany, Netherlands and Italy.
In March this year, China’s President Xi Jinping said he hoped its annual trade with the countries involved in Beijing’s plan to create a modern Silk Road would surpass $2.5 trillion in a decade.
In Saudi Arabia, Xi is expected to hold talks with the Saudi leadership on the fight against terrorism.
Xi’s trip to Riyadh comes amid the kingdom’s hostilities with Iran.
Saudi Arabia and Iran are the largest and fifth-biggest oil producers in OPEC, respectively. China is Iran’s biggest oil client.
Chinese ally Russia has also indicated it is ready to invite the Saudi and Iranian foreign ministers to Moscow for negotiations.
Saudi Arabia announced earlier this month it was severing its ties to Iran after its embassy in Tehran was firebombed in protest at the kingdom’s execution of Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.
China has described the tensions in the Middle East as a threat to world peace.
“If the Middle East is not stable, I’m afraid the world can’t be very peaceful. If a country or a region is not stable, it cannot realize development,” said Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Ming.
“The Chinese side has maintained thorough communication with countries in the Middle East through various channels in a bid to ease regional tensions,” Zhang added.
Even as many Arab countries recalled envoys to Iran and the United Arab Emirates downgraded relations in solidarity with Saudi Arabia, China sent vice foreign minister Zhang Ming to Saudi Arabia and Iran for an exchange of views earlier last week.
During his visit to Saudi Arabia, Xi will hold talks with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to discuss lifting bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership, Ming told reporters in Beijing on Monday.
Xi will also hold separate meetings with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Abdul Latif Bin Rushid Al Zayani and the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Secretary-General Iyad Ameen Madani.
In Egypt, Xi will hold talks with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and speak at the headquarters of the League of Arab States.
Xi’s crucial Middle East visit begins on January 19 and he will fly back to Beijing on 24 January.
TBP and Agencies
