China said it welcomes any effort to draw a joint roadmap with Iran to enhance economic cooperation.
President Xi Jinping made the remarks in a meeting with President Hassan Rouhani on the sidelines of the summit of African and Asian leaders held in Indonesia from April 22-24, ISNA reported on Friday.
"China is willing to invest in such sectors as energy, ports, railroads and new technologies," he said.
Praising Rouhani's role in the progress made in the talks with the major powers known as the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany), Xi said, "Beijing is happy with the Lausanne statement (outlining the key points of a final nuclear deal which was issued on April 2 after eight days of intensive talks in the Swiss city)."
Xi hoped that the valuable gains made through intensive efforts would lead to a "fair, balanced and mutually beneficial agreement."
President Rouhani in turn hailed China's constructive role in the negotiations with the P5+1and said a final deal can be reached if the other side shows "the required political resolve."
"The public are today aware that Iran has entered the negotiations with honesty and transparency and has demonstrated flexibility while remaining committed to its undertakings," he said, adding that now is time for the other side to lift economic sanctions to gain the international community's trust.
He called for the development of bilateral cooperation in line with the principles highlighted in the 1955 Bandung Conference (which was the first large-scale Asian African conference), noting that expansion of relations will continue as envisaged in a meeting between the two presidents last year.
Opportunities
On the areas for cooperation, Rouhani said, "Apart from energy, there are numerous opportunities in Iran for investment, including infrastructure, transportation, railroads, ports and new technologies."
He provided his Chinese counterpart with a detailed explanation about Iran's plans for developing its cooperation with other countries by connecting to international railroads and developing transit routes, calling for developing a strategic relationship based on "a long-term roadmap."
Referring to the current regional developments, Rouhani reiterated the need to help establish peace and stability in Yemen, put an immediate halt to bombings, dispatch humanitarian aid and launch national dialogue in the war-wracked Arab country.
Describing terrorism as a threat to all countries, he expressed Iran's readiness for engaging in any type of bilateral and collective collaboration to deal with the growth of violence, extremism and terrorism in the Middle East, as well as other parts of the world.
Xi, for his part, called for a ceasefire in Yemen and said the two sides need to solve their problems peacefully through holding political dialogue.
Hailing Iran's stance on regional issues, he said China welcomes Iran's "political initiative" to end the conflict in Yemen. Elsewhere, the Chinese president said Beijing strongly backs the lifting of sanctions against Iran because sanctions have negatively affected bilateral ties and disrupted economic cooperation at international level. On the sidelines of the event, Rouhani also met Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang, Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Bangladeshi President Abdul Hamid.
