Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed Beijing's "solidarity" with Tehran on Tuesday as he hosted the Islamic Republic's President Ebrahim Raisi at the start of a three-day trip.
During a welcoming ceremony, cooperation agreements were signed, on issues ranging from crisis management to communication and information technology according to Iran's state news agency IRNA.
The trip is the first official state visit by a president of the Islamic Republic of Iran to China since President Khatami went to Beijing in 2000.
Raisi's visit is expected to deepen ties between the two political and economic partners that are opposed to the US-led Western domination of international affairs.
Strategic partnership
The two leaders met last September in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, when Xi underscored China's support for Iran.
In December, Raisi pledged to deepen the strategic partnership during a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua in Tehran.
China is a major buyer of Iranian oil and an important source of investment in the mideast country. In 2021, Iran and China signed a 25-year strategic cooperation agreement that covered major economic activities from oil and mining to industry, transportation and agriculture.
Both countries have had tense relations with the United States and have sought to project themselves as a counterweight to American power alongside Russia.
Drones for Russia
Washington has accused Iran of selling hundreds of attack drones to Russia for its war in Ukraine and has sanctioned executives of an Iranian drone manufacturer. At that same time, ties between Moscow and Beijing have grown stronger.
Iran on Saturday celebrated the 44th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution amid nationwide anti-government protests and heightened tensions with the West.
The Raisi visit marks a gradual deepening of ties between countries that support Russia or refrain from condemning its invasion of Ukraine.
On the one side there is Moscow's 'friendship without limits' with China, supported by Iran, Belarus, North Korea, and to a lesser extend, African countries where Russia's Wagner mercenary group is active such as Mali, Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic and Sudan.
While China helps Russia in the finance and energy sector, Iran is delivering military drones and North Korea is reported to be behind the transfer of weapons to Wagner mercenaries.
Facing them is Ukraine, supported by the US, the UK, the EU and countries like Japan and Australia, which are supporting Kyiv with heavy artillery, humanitarian help, or training.
(With newswires)
