Coronavirus not yet had an impact on Iran's trade with China; Official
"Recent U.S sanctions have seriously damaged the trade between Iran and China," Chairman of Iran-China Chamber of Commerce told ILNA.
In an exclusive interview, Majid Reza Hariri said that Iran's exports to China have declined in the past two years, as most of our exports included oil and gas; adding that "Trade between the two countries has fallen by 35%."
In its most recent report, China's General Administration of Customs said that trade with Iran significantly dropped in 2019; by about one-third.
Before U.S. sanctions came into effect in 2018 China was the biggest buyer of Iranian crude oil. Currently, due to sanctions, Iran can only export between 250-300,000 barrels of crude oil per day 250,000 barrels of which go to China.
Chairman of Iran-China Chamber of Commerce pointed to the outbreak of a lethal coronavirus and added that the coronavirus has not yet had an impact on Iran's trade with China.
"Because of Over 80% of our exports include oil and raw materials and the remaining 20% are saffron, carpet, and handicrafts," the Iranian official said.
On Saturdays, Iran-China Chamber of Commerce has warned Iranian traders and merchants about the outbreak of a lethal coronavirus in China and called on them to monitor the latest situation of the viral spread before traveling to China.
"Very dangerous and fatal respiratory virus has spread in China and in some Southeast Asian countries severely in a way that all outbound travelers from China are strictly monitored at all airports across the world," Chairman of Iran-China Chamber of Commerce Majid Reza Hariri wrote in his Instagram post.
According to Reuters, at least 56 have died so far and the coronavirus has infected over 1,200.
The East Asian country stepped up measures on Friday to contain the virus, with public transport suspended in 10 cities, the shutting of temples and the rapid construction of a hospital to treat the infected.
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