Tehran, 18 January 2006 (Irna - website) - The Chinese Ambassador to Tehran said here Monday that the trade between Iran and China exceeds dlrs 10 billion and China is to become Iran's primary trade partner in the near future.

Speaking at Iran, China economic gathering Lio G Tan said that Iran and China trade registered record high last year.

"China imported over dlrs one billion of non-oil goods from Iran in 2004 and the figure doubled in 2005." China's imports of non-oil goods from Iran is among the highest of non-oil exports from Iran, he said.

Also, the two nations gained great achievement in signing agreement on new projects which totaled 38 last year, Tan said.

The two nations also achieved progress in developing their upstream and downstream industries in oil and gas sectors.

China hopes that the respective chambers of commerce will show the necessary coordination and companies will abide by agreements's regulations to improve products quality, Tan stated.

Banks should also observe international commercial conventions and the two customs should ease regulations on clearing of goods to facilitate bilateral trade, he added.

He said the mutual trade exchange could be boosted given the two nations' large markets and amicable political relations.

The outstanding problems in the two nations trade exchange pale significantly compared to their important commercial goals, the Chinese envoy underlined.

He said the Chinese embassy will do its part and be a bridge between the two sides to resolve their issues and improve bilateral trade.

The 13th Iran-China joint Economic, Scientific and Technical Commission will be held in Tehran. A Chinese product exhibition will also be held in Tehran in September.

He highlighted the importance of mutual cooperation in the energy, power, metallurgy, telecommunications,, shipbuilding, transportation and water sectors, saying 700,000 people are daily using the China-made subway network in Iran.

The ambassador said expansion of cooperation between Iran and Hong Kong will benefit both sides.

Lio put the value of direct exchanges between Iran and Hong Kong at dlrs 60 million to dlrs 170 million in a period starting from 2003.

He expressed dissatisfaction over dlrs 40 billion exchanges between Hong Kong and other states.

Concluding his remarks, Lio said abundant natural resources, big market, geographical location and educated workforce are among relative advantages of Iran, stressing expansion of mutual cooperation.

In related news, Iranian charge d'affaires in China, Farhad Asadi said here last week that talks are currently underway between Iran and independent states such as China on the prospect of purchasing aircraft to equip the country's air fleet.

In response to a question on whether Iran will use Chinese planes in its air fleet, he noted that Iran intends to procure its requirement from independent and friendly countries.

He added that talks are currently underway on the issue and that any kind of cooperation in this respect will be welcomed.

Concerning collaboration and mutual relations in 2006, Asadi said that the two states currently enjoy the most favorable ties and referred to China as Iran's best trade partner.

"Iran and China have potentials for long-term collaboration based on mutual confidence and safeguarding each other's interests.

"Bilateral agreements on cooperation in the oil and gas sector will result in several-billion-dollar revenue over the next 25 years.

Besides implementation of dozens of minor and major industrial projects in Iran by Chinese enterprises mark the significance of such relations in economic and trade fields," he added.