BEIJING (Alalam) --China for the first time has turned to be Iran's biggest trade partner in 2006, replacing Japan, according to customs-cleared trade and other data.

This shows China, facing growing energy demand, is deepening its economic relationship with Iran at a time when Japanese companies are reluctant to make new investments in the Middle Eastern country under U.S. pressure.
Imports and exports between Iran and China in 2006 surged 43 percent from the previous year to 14.45 billion dollars, topping 12.30 billion dollars for two-way trade between Iran and Japan, according to the data.
Iran boosted exports of oil and construction materials to China while its imports of electronics products and automobile parts from China rose substantially, trade sources said.
In contrast, growth in Iran's oil exports to Japan slowed and its machinery imports from Japan dropped, they said.
In terms of exports from Iran alone, shipments to China were 1.1 billion dollars smaller than those to Japan.
Since the beginning of this year, however, Iran's China-bound exports have been growing rapidly, making it highly likely that China will become both Iran's biggest export destination and source of imports in 2007