Mokhber met with Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang on the sidelines of the 22nd meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCo) member states in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on Thursday. 

Referring to the 25-year strategic cooperation agreement between Iran and China, the first vice president said, "There are many areas of cooperation between Tehran and Beijing, and if we focus on these areas and lay the ground for the private sector of the two countries, we will reach a favorable point in achieving the goals in realizing the goals of the 25-year agreement."

Referring to the volume of trade between Iran and China, which is about $30 billion annually, Mokhber added, "With measures such as using barter mechanism and the local currencies of the two countries, the process of developing trade relations will be facilitated and this figure will increase significantly. Therefore, it is necessary to increase trade volume with the local currencies of the two countries."

The Chines premier, for his part, said that Beijing is ready to develop its strategic relations with Tehran and deepen the cooperation between the two countries in various fields.

"As always, China insists on preserving the national sovereignty, territorial integrity and progress of the Iranian nation and opposes any foreign interference and illegal sanctions against it," Li Qiang said.

Beijing has always voiced readiness to encourage its people to travel to Iran for tourism and promote its cooperation with Iran in the field of education, tourism and increasing scholarships for Iranian students.