Iran, China and Russia held their third joint naval drills in the northern Indian Ocean on Friday.

China has offloaded nearly four million barrels of Iranian crude oil into state reserve tanks in the southern port city of Zhanjiang over the past few weeks, a trade source and ship tracking specialist Vortexa Analytics said on Thursday.

International Desk

The number of COVID-19 cases in China reached its highest level since March 2020 on Monday, as Beijing races to smother outbreaks just three weeks before hosting the Winter Olympics.

China has been filling the vacuum that the United States is creating in the Middle East, an American newspaper argues, after the Syrian government announced that the Arab country has joined China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said the 25-year Comprehensive Strategic Partnership agreement signed with China will be a “win-win” game for the two countries as it serves both sides’ interests.

International Desk

Iran urges West ‘realistic approach’ in Vienna talks

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian met with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Friday. The Iranian FM’s visit to China includes two main axes: Bilateral and international political issues and a review of the 25-Year Cooperation Plan between Tehran and Beijing.

International Desk

China suspended dozens of international flights on Friday amid a global surge in Omicron cases, while the city of Shanghai curbed tourist activity as it rushed to head off local COVID-19 infections as imported cases rose.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian is set to meet his Chinese counterpart during a visit to that country on Friday. China is among important countries in the Iranian government’s “Look to the East” approach. A long-term strategic agreement between the two nations, Iran’s talks with the P4+1 in Vienna and pursuing a multipolar world strategy against a unipolar outlook are expected to top the agenda of the two ministers’ negotiations.

Inflation in China eased in December thanks to falling food and commodity costs, with analysts saying Wednesday's figures give policymakers room to unveil measures to kickstart the stuttering economy including interest rate cuts.

Iran’s Ambassador to China Mohammad Keshavarzzadeh said an upcoming visit by Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian to Beijing is of great importance in the current circumstances.

Iran and China are holding their first joint exhibition of the two countries’ stamps in Tehran.