China, Iran take path to shared future

China and Iran have inked a 25-year blueprint to enhance bilateral comprehensive strategic cooperation, which follows a joint statement issued in 2016 that they would establish a strategic cooperation partnership. The agreement, signed on Saturday, reflects both sides' need to pursue development based on the principle of mutual benefit and win-win results.

Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iran has been facing daunting challenges due mainly to Western, especially US, sanctions, sociopolitical turmoil, the Iran-Iraq war, and rising tensions with some Western and neighboring countries. In order to find a path of development that suits its real conditions, Iran has to seek new diplomatic partners and China has proved to be one.

Iran's "look to the East" policy－put forward by former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government (2005-13)－seeks to embrace East Asia, especially strengthen Iran's strategic cooperation with China. In 2018, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared that "in foreign policy, the top priorities for us today include preferring East to West". Many said the statement suggested Iran would focus more on deepening diplomatic and economic ties with Asian countries.