China–Iran relations

China–Iran relations (Chinese: 中国–伊朗关系, Persian: روابط ایران و چین) refer to the bilateral relations between the People's Republic of China and Iran. The relationship between the two civilizations is one of the oldest continuous contacts in history, stretching back more than 2,500 years. Their earliest interactions began when the Achaemenid Empire and the Zhou dynasty had indirect contact in the 6th century BC.

Persian merchants became the main carriers of goods and culture across Central Asia, bringing their religions, music, and ideas into China. Ambassadors were exchanged, and Chinese travelers visited Iran regularly. Each side introduced new goods to the other, the most famous of which was Chinese silk. The trade route carrying this precious commodity from China to Europe passed through Iran, becoming known as the Silk Road, with Iran controlling much of the trade that moved silk, metals, glass, and textiles between East and West.

In modern times, official diplomatic relations were established in 1937 between the Republic of China and Pahlavi Iran. After the Iranian Revolution, China and the U.S. were both distrusted, but subsequent sanctions by the west pushed Iran closer to the east. Cooperation gradually expanded, with China purchasing more than 80 percent of Iran's shipped oil by 2025 and becoming a leading investor in transportation and industrial projects. Relations deepened through long-term economic agreements and China's Belt and Road Initiative, making Iran one of China's most important strategic partners. In 2021, the two nations signed a 25-year cooperation agreement.

History

The relationship between China and Iran is one of the oldest in history, going back more than 2,500 years. Their earliest interactions began when the Achaemenid Empire and the Zhou dynasty had indirect contact in the 6th century BC. The first direct and official contact started between the Parthian Empire and Han dynasty around 200 BC, when the Chinese envoy Zhang Qian encountered the Parthian court.

Chinese records from the Han dynasty describe Parthia as an advanced urban civilization. Trade routes that would later form the Silk Road already existed, allowing goods, ideas, and technologies to move between the two regions through Central Asian intermediaries. This early connectivity laid the foundation for deeper relations in later centuries.

During the Sassanian Empire, ambassadors from Iran frequently traveled to China, and both empires benefited from trade along the Silk Road. They also shared an interest in protecting these trade routes. In later centuries, the two regions continued to interact, especially during the Mongol Yuan dynasty, when many Central Asian and Persian people were recruited into Chinese administration and society. This period saw significant cultural and technological exchanges, including the spread of paper money and printing from China to Iran.

In the 20th century, diplomatic links between China and Iran were formally established. After the formation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 and the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979, the two countries maintained diplomatic relations. In recent years, they have strengthened their partnership, focusing on energy, trade, and infrastructure projects, despite facing challenges from Western powers.

Economy

Further information: China–Iran trade relations

After the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was signed in July 2015, China and Iran agreed to grow their trade to $600 billion over ten years starting from January 2016. This was during a visit by Chinese leader Xi Jinping to Hassan Rouhani. This plan followed the One Belt, One Road ideas. Seventeen agreements were signed, including one about the Iranian nuclear program. China plans to help connect Tehran with Mashhad using their high-speed rail technology.

Oil and gas

See also: Petroleum industry in Iran

Oil and gas are very important in the relationship between China and Iran. China changed its energy use from coal to oil, and it started buying more oil from Iran in the 1970s and 1990s. By 2025, China bought over 80 percent of Iran’s oil exports. About 80 percent of what China buys from Iran is oil, and the rest is minerals and chemicals. China is helping Iran improve its oil and gas industry to make sure it can keep getting these resources. The China National Petroleum Corporation made deals to drill for gas and oil in Iran. China also helps Iran send its oil to Europe and Asia by building pipelines.

China sees Iran as a key partner for its energy needs. In 2004, a Chinese company agreed to buy a lot of gas from Iran over 25 years. Later deals included helping Iran develop oil fields and buying more gas. China also sells gasoline to Iran when Iran can’t get it from other places.

In 2011, it was reported that China and Iran had an agreement letting China control some of Iran’s oil and gas fields until 2024. China promised to protect these areas as if they were its own. Because of this, China has bought almost all of Iran’s oil since the JCPOA was signed. In 2017, 64% of Iran’s exports to China were crude oil. By 2026, China bought more than 90% of all Iranian oil production.

Trade

During the Cold War, trade between Iran and China grew slowly. By the 1980s, trade was $1.627 billion, and by 2007, it was $15 billion. In 2005, China became Iran’s second biggest supplier after Germany. China’s exports to Iran grew quickly, and Iran started buying more from China. China built subway systems, dams, and factories in Iran, while Iran supplied China with coal, zinc, lead, and copper.

Trade between the two countries reached $45 billion in 2011 and was expected to grow to $50 billion by 2012. In 2023, Iran exported $4.59 billion to China, mostly ore, plastic, and chemicals. China exported $10 billion to Iran, mainly machinery, electronics, and vehicles. By 2025, China became Iran’s biggest trading partner.^: 108 

Infrastructure

Line 5 of the Tehran metro started in 1999. It was built by the Chinese company NORINCO.

New Silk Road

Main article: Belt and Road Initiative

By 2019, Iran joined Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s One Belt One Road plan. Iran is important for China’s goals in central Asia and the Middle East. While most goods travel by ship, there are also train routes through Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. In 2016, the first direct container train from Yiwu to Tehran took 14 days. Plans are to make this a regular service.

Iran and China are updating railways to connect Ürümqi to Tehran, and also Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. In 2016, a test run from Shanghai to Tehran took 12 days instead of 30 by sea. In 2018, China planned a new freight train line with Iran. A 2020 document showed a 25-year plan where China would invest in Iran’s infrastructure in return for discounted oil. The rivalry between the US and China influenced this agreement.

Politics

Open mutual support is seen in Iran's support of a major event in 1989 and Chinese condemnation of the United States' attack on an Iranian airplane, among other things.

Military

China is believed to have helped Iran with training officials, technical support, and supplying materials for missile development. There were reports of China helping Iran develop advanced weapons during the 1980s and 1990s.

China and Iran held their first joint naval exercise in 2017. These exercises focused on anti-piracy and search-and-rescue operations.

After coming to office in 2021, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi pursued a policy to deepen ties with China and Russia. In January 2022, Iran, China, and Russia held their third joint naval drills in the northern Indian Ocean.

There were reports of enhanced security, intelligence, military and technology cooperation between Iran and China. China has expressed its stance on the threat or use of force in international relations and interference in the internal affairs of other countries diplomatically.

China and Iran have conducted joint naval drills with Russia in the Sea of Oman and the Indian Ocean. These drills have special geopolitical significance in the light of mounting tensions between Iran and the United States.

Nuclear technology

Nuclear cooperation began in the 1980s when China helped build a research reactor and supplied other research reactors. China helped Iran construct a uranium enrichment plant and resume construction on a nuclear power plant.

Direct nuclear cooperation has ended, but there is speculation over whether there remains indirect nuclear cooperation. In 2015, China was part of the Iran nuclear deal framework. China opposes Iran's possible production and possession of nuclear weapons but does not see the urgency to stop it.

UN sanctions

Iran relies on China's veto power on the Security Council to protect it from US-led sanctions.

China is known for its preference of diplomacy over sanctions. This tradition includes China's opposition to UN sanctions against Iran. Only in 2010, under US pressure, did China join Russia to support the UN sanctions on Iran.

Ideology

On 1 June 1920, a friendship agreement was signed between the Beiyang government and Qajar Persia. Official diplomatic relations were established in 1937. Prior to 1971, an unofficial relationship existed out of necessity.

From this emerged the current relationship. The Shah visited Taiwan to meet the President of China Chiang Kai-shek in 1958. In 1971, Imperial Iran supported Red China's bid for a permanent seat in the United Nations General Assembly and it voted in favour to admit Beijing and replace Taipei. China was invited to the 2,500-year celebration of the Persian Empire. Iran recognized the People's Republic of China in 1971.

The cooperation emerges partly from Chinese and Iranian recognition as fellow heirs to great civilizations and because Iran has emerged as the regional leader in the Middle East. While there is also a shared distrust of the United States' government and its interests, many young Chinese and Iranians at the same time admire certain aspects of American society and culture. There is also Iranian admiration for China's rapid economic growth, and for the most part, their economic contributions to Iran are appreciated and respected.

Beijing has generally supported the Iran-backed government in Syria, joining Russia in vetoing several U.N. resolutions condemning actions in the Syrian civil war, and strongly opposing Western interference in the conflict, arguing that outside intervention would further worsen and complicate the situation.

In April 2015, China stated that Iran had been officially accepted as a founding member of its newly founded Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

In 2016, Chinese leader Xi Jinping announced his support for Iran's full membership in SCO during a state visit to Iran.

In July 2019, UN ambassadors from 50 countries, including Iran, have signed a joint letter to the UNHRC defending China's treatment of certain Muslim minorities.

In January 2020, China condemned the assassination of an Iranian general by the United States, alleging that the targeted killing was in violation of international law.

In June 2020, Iran was one of 53 countries that backed a law at the United Nations.

Following the April 2024 Iranian strikes against Israel, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had a call with Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian where Wang reiterated Iran's assertion that its action was a limited action taken in self-defense.

On 23 January 2026, China voted against a UN Human Rights Council resolution condemning certain events in Iran.

2026 Iran war

Further information: China in the 2026 Iran war

China has cautioned against efforts to change the government in Iran, emphasizing the lack of popular support such actions. Beijing also called for the immediate cessation of military operation in the Middle East, stressing the need to respect Iran's sovereignty.

In February 2026, the U.S. and Israel launched a major strike on Iran, but China remained largely silent. Despite Iran's retaliation and threat to key oil routes, Beijing avoided direct confrontation with the United States. China's muted response was widely interpreted as underscoring its prioritization of Taiwan over its strategic partnership with Iran. This shift highlighted China's focus on core interests over distant allies.

Following a two-week ceasefire being declared on 8 April 2026, a CNN report stated that according to U.S. intelligence, China is preparing to ship certain weapons systems to Iran. The American intelligence sources maintained that China intended to transfer the weapons systems through third countries to mask their origin.

Society

There are important historical connections between China and Iran. Both countries feel proud as the descendants of ancient empires. However, after a big change in China in 1949, there was little contact between the two countries until the 1960s.

More recently, some people in Iran have mixed feelings about China because of economic differences. Surveys show that about half of Iranians have a positive view of China's leadership. There are also about 2,000 Chinese people living in Tehran, and many Chinese companies have moved to Iran.

Intermarriage

Iran and China have a long history of people marrying from each other's countries. For example, Persian Muslims in China sometimes married local women, and Persian women also married Chinese men. Historians have found old letters written by Persian women living in China, showing that they faced hard times and had to work for Chinese families. These stories remind us of the deep connections between the two cultures over many centuries.

See also: Chinese people in Iran and Iranians in China

Culture

Chinese culture has had a big effect on Iran's books, TV, and special events. For example, many Chinese restaurants have opened in Tehran, the capital of Iran. China works hard to show itself in a good way to help keep strong ties between the two countries. Iran has also tried to share its culture in China, and people there have welcomed it. China also started a Confucius Institute at the University of Tehran and at the University of Mazandaran to teach Chinese language and culture.

Literature

Li Shunxian, a woman from both Persia and China, wrote famous Chinese poems during the Tang dynasty. People like Ha Dechen and Wang Jingzhai helped change Persian books into Chinese. The works of Sadi are very popular and have been shown on Chinese TV.

Linguistics

Through trade along the Silk Road, Chinese people learned many words from Middle Persian, especially names for special goods. Interestingly, many of these words came from even older languages like Elamite or BMAC.

Huihuihua is a special kind of Chinese that uses many Persian and Arabic words.

The Galle Trilingual Inscription is linked to the travels of Zheng He.^{[citation needed]}

Issues

Diplomatic issues

In June 2024, China said it supports finding peaceful solutions for islands in the Persian Gulf that Iran controls but the UAE claims. Iran disagreed and called in China's ambassador to express their upset.

In December 2025, China again supported peaceful solutions for these islands in a statement with the UAE. This made Iran very unhappy. Some Iranian leaders said China was being unfair and not respecting Iran's land. They also mentioned China's strong views on places like Taiwan.