Azernews.Az

China has agreed to finance a number of petrochemical projects in Iran , the Fars News Agency quoted the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company's Managing Director Abbas Kazemi as saying.

China has imported some €18 billion or $22 billion worth of Iranian oil, but has not paid. According to Fars, the petrochemical projects will be financed on this account.

On November 1, Iranian media said China had agreed to finance $20 billion in development projects in Iran using oil money not transferred to the Islamic Republic because of international sanctions.

Iran government spokesperson Mohammad Bagher Nowbakht said some $22 billion dollars of Iranian oil money is stuck in China because of sanctions.

China has agreed to use a portion of the money which cannot be transferred as collateral and invest triple the amount to finance projects in Iran, he explained.

The two sides have also reached agreement to carry out some of the projects on a 50-50 basis. In a normal situation, international financiers do not accept such a condition.

China is Iran's biggest oil customer, second goods supplier and first non-oil commodity importer in the world.