Chinese Ambassador to Iran Pang Sen praised the economic and trade cooperation between China and Iran in recent years on the eve of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Middle East trip, pointing out that Iran contributes 10 percent of China’s imported oil.

Xi’s upcoming Iranian trip will be the first one paid to Iran by a Chinese head of state in 14 years.

China has been Iran’s largest trading partner for six consecutive years and also the largest export destination of oil and non-petroleum products, Pang added in the article published in the People’s Daily.

In 2014, the bilateral trade volume exceeded the $50 billion landmark. In addition, many Chinese companies like Huawei have set up branches in Iran.

The resource-abundant Middle East nation is transforming its natural resources into wealth and productivity, while China is undergoing in-depth economic restructuring and industrial transformation, read the article.

Against such a backdrop, Sino-Iranian cooperation enjoys a promising prospect, said the ambassador, adding that their development complement with each other well.

Hailing the wisdom contributed by China to the recently adopted political settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue, the ambassador explained that as developing nations, both sides share a similar stance on national sovereignty as well as global and regional affairs.

He added that the initiative of Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road put forward by China were also actively echoed by the Middle Eastern nation.

“Thanks to the proposal, Sino-Iranian cooperation in trade, connectivity, production capacity and industrial parks will be boosted,” the ambassador said.