TEHRAN – A member of the Iranian Parliament’s Presiding Board has called for closer coordination among government bodies to strengthen strategic relations between Iran and China and translate existing agreements and opportunities into tangible results.
Speaking to Mehr News Agency, Farshad Ebrahimpour said China, given its extensive relations with Iran and Arab countries, was well positioned to establish a sustainable regional security framework.
Referring to the 2023 agreement between Tehran and Riyadh, brokered by Beijing, Ebrahimpour said the initiative had demonstrated China's capacity to help ease regional tensions. However, he stressed that such cooperation should lead to lasting mechanisms for security dialogue and mutual respect for national sovereignty.
Regional stability, he added, cannot be achieved without taking Iran's security and national interests into account.
Ebrahimpour said relations with China should not be viewed merely as a means of easing international pressure. Rather, they should serve as an opportunity to strengthen national security and advance Iran's economic development.
The parliament member pointed to the gap between economic agreements with China and their practical outcomes, saying that the 25-year Comprehensive Cooperation Program, along with the opportunities arising from Iran's membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and BRICS, provides significant potential for expanding economic ties.
However, he cautioned that signing agreements and memorandums of understanding does not, in itself, guarantee investment, technology transfer or the implementation of economic projects.
Economic relations with China, he emphasized, should go beyond imports of goods and equipment and instead promote joint investment, strengthen domestic production, facilitate the transfer of technical know-how and create employment opportunities.
Ebrahimpour also underscored the need to draw on China's diplomatic capabilities to bring an end to the current state of neither war nor peace.
Iran's demands, he said, should not be confined to a cessation of hostilities, as ending a war and preventing further aggression are closely interconnected objectives. A political agreement alone, he stressed, cannot guarantee lasting security.
Given its international standing and extensive ties with countries across the region, China can play an effective role in ending the war, preventing further aggression, and supporting national sovereignty and the principle of non-aggression, he added.