Iranian Ambassador to China Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli Photo: Courtesy of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in China

Iranian Ambassador to China Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli told the Global Times in an exclusive interview on Thursday that China's experience and achievements in economic and social development through strategic planning are remarkable. These valuable experiences have made China a source of inspiration for Global South countries.

China's experience and achievements in economic and social development through strategic planning are remarkable. By formulating and consistently implementing 14 Five-Year Plans over the past seven decades, China has succeeded in simultaneously maintaining social cohesion, achieving rapid industrial development, and sustaining high economic growth, thereby emerging as one of the world's major powers, remarked Ambassador Fazli.

"These valuable experiences have made China a source of inspiration for many developing countries (often referred to as the Global South)," he said.

China's commitment to continuing its open-door policy in the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) - particularly through expanding imports - enables developing countries to continue pursuing export development as a strategy for economic growth. Likewise, China's emphasis on advancing initiatives such as the Belt and Road Initiative in the 15th Five-Year Plan allows developing countries to seek greater investment from China.

Iran, as one of the most important developing countries, is determined not only to benefit from China's valuable experiences in economic and social development but also to make use of China's diverse capacities in various economic fields - particularly trade, investment, and technology transfer - to achieve its own development goals, the ambassador said.

Priorities emphasized in the 15th Five-Year Plan create greater opportunities for the further development of emerging and high-technology industries in China, including semiconductors, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, aerospace, and biotechnology. These priorities can help transform China into a major global hub for such industries.

"In this context, foreign investors and international businesses will be able to conduct their financial transactions more easily, with greater confidence and quality, and in a more cost-effective manner," he added.

Additionally, at a time of heightened global economic uncertainty, the Iranian Ambassador to China assessed China's efforts to create new opportunities for the world through the stability and predictability of the country's own development.

"Today's world is facing complex and unprecedented transformations. Through its policy of economic openness, high-quality development, and the sharing of development opportunities, China has sought to expand international cooperation and strengthen multilateralism," said Ambassador Fazli.

However, unilateral and coercive actions, sanctions regimes, economic terrorism, and so-called maximum pressure campaigns are among the most significant threats to the stability and security of the international system.

The theory of "peace through strength" has undermined the interests of countries around the world - particularly those of developing countries - and should be replaced by the concept of "peace through development." Only through such an approach can the fundamental principles governing the international system be defended decisively and courageously, while also creating the conditions necessary for shared development, he suggested.

With the launch of China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), Iran and China - within the framework of the 25-year cooperation agreement - have defined five priority areas for deepening their strategic partnership: trade and investment; technology and self-reliance; energy transition; digital economy and cultural diplomacy, he briefed.

It is expected that "through the synergy of these priorities, they will achieve significant progress in areas such as advanced technology, clean energy, and economic security, while further consolidating the strategic partnership between the two countries within the emerging international order," said Ambassador Fazli.