TEHRAN – The former Iranian ambassador to China, Mehdi Safari, has asked for initiating a movement for learning Chinese in Iran due the crucial role he claims China may play in the international economy in the future.

Addressing a meeting of experts, professors and students of Chinese language on Wednesday, he elaborated on the growing trade between Iran and China over the past 40 years.

Safari also discussed common economic interests and the vital role of language in trade between the two countries during the meeting, which was held at the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at Tehran’s Shahid Beheshti University.

“The level of trade exchanges between Iran and China has significantly increased from $7 billion to $52 billion over the past 10 years”, Safari said as he estimated the level to exceed $100 billion by 2020.

Safari urged a quick action over developing new infrastructures for learning the Chinese language at Iranian universities.

“The graduates of the Chinese language will be in high demand within the next five year,” he said.

“Over 35,000 Americans are currently studying Chinese due to the fact that the total volume of trade exchanges between the West and China has now reached $1 trillion,” Safari explained.

Due to his own experiences in learning a foreign language, Safari said that Chinese seems easy to learn in comparison with other languages.

Photo: Former Iranian ambassador to China Mehdi Safari

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