Iran’s commercial exchanges with its biggest trading partner, China, hit $9.8 billion from January to August to register a 40.6% decline compared with the corresponding period of 2019.
According to data provided by the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China, Iran’s exports to China stood at $3.85 billion during the period under review, indicating a 6.7% year-on-year drop.
In return, China exported $5.95 billion worth of commodities to Iran to register a 61.9% YOY decrease.
Bilateral trade in August stood at $1.14 billion, such that Iran’s exports to China accounted for $321.9 million of the sum while imports stood at $826.5 million.
Iran's trade with China in 2019 stood at $23.02 billion to register a decline of 34.3% compared to 2018. It exported $13.43 billion worth of commodities to China last year, 36.3% less compared to the year before. In return, China exported $9.59 billion worth of goods to Iran, down 31.2% YOY.
The decline in Iran-China trade is mainly due to the outbreak of the new coronavirus, but the two sides are taking measures to boost their trade turnover back to its pre-coronavirus levels.