Tehran, Sept 29, IRNA-Chinese Ambassador to Tehran said on Wednesday that Chinese automobile companies and Iran-Khodro industrial Group should cooperate in building automobiles.

Leo Jen Tung added that China is among the largest automobile manufacturing countries and will be the largest car market in the future.

Iran neighbors 15 nations which are very wealthy and this ideal situation can be impetus for joint investments in the car industry, he added.

He added that since two decades ago when China started its economic liberalization program many international companies entered its market, investing billions of dollars which has led to progress in indigenous manufacturing technology.

He further praised Iran-Khodro as a viable company which has achieved solid progress in automobile manufacturing in Iran.

The value of Tehran-Beijing trade exchange will reach dlrs 10 billion annually in the coming years. Iran-China joint economic meeting and the exhibition of Chinese spare parts and machinery will be held in Iran in the coming months.

The exchange of oil and gas is among key areas of cooperation between Iran and China and necessary agreements have been signed for exchange of fuels.

Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Davoud Danesh-Jaafari and his Chinese counterpart in a meeting on Sunday examined ways of bolstering economic collaboration.

Both sides urged that given the 10-million-dollar target predicted for trade exchange between the two countries in 2006, the current traditional cooperation trend in the economic sector should be modernized and diversified.