China signs 25-year deal with Iran in challenge to the U.S.

China and Iran signed an overarching deal aimed at charting the course of their economic, political and trade relations over the next 25 years, Iranian state TV reported, in a challenge to the Biden administration.

The “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” agreement, signed in Tehran on Saturday by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, has been in the works since 2016, when President Xi Jinping became the first Chinese leader to visit the

Iranian capital in over a decade.

“The document can elevate bilateral ties to a new strategic level,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said in a televised interview. The deal focuses on boosting private-sector collaboration and the Islamic Republic’s role in Xi’s flagship infrastructure and investment program, the Belt and Road Initiative, he said.

A draft copy of the outlines of the accord that surfaced on media last year showed plans for long-term supply of Iranian crude to China as well as investment in oil, gas, petrochemical, renewables and nuclear energy infrastructure.

The alliance between Beijing and Tehran is a challenge to U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration as it sets about trying to rally allies against China, which Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said is the world’s “greatest geopolitical test.”

Iran’s closer integration with China may help shore up its economy against the impact of the U.S. penalties, while sending a clear signal to the Biden administration of Tehran’s intentions. Wang Yi, who arrived in Tehran on Friday, also met with President Hassan Rouhani to discuss the nuclear deal.