Iran is embracing Chinese President Xi Jinping’s proposal to revive the old land Silk Road, which used to connect ancient civilizations like China and Iran, Dr. Ali Akbar Velayati, president of the Center for Strategic Research in Iran, said on Friday during a tour to Beijing.

Velayati, also the former Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, made his remark in a forum on "Economic Cooperation between China and Iran and the Future Prospects" held by the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China.

China and Iran are two independent countries in the world, regardless of the global dominance of the United States. The revitalization of the Silk Road, therefore, is geographically and geopolitically important as it can extend bilateral cooperation via growing trade and exchanges, Velayati said.

The exchanges between China’s high technologies and Iran’s rich natural resources exemplify the complementary economies of the two countries, he said.

His viewpoint was echoed by John Ross, former director of economic and business policy of London.

"The relations between China and Iran are vital for the two economic complexes in the world," said Ross. "They will guarantee prosperity and living standards for a great number of people."

According to Ross, the cooperation between China and Iran along the route of the Silk Road Economic Belt will also counteract the hegemonic policies of the United States, one of which is to constrain China. "When the United States is weak it will be at peace, but when it is strong, it would be aggressive and violent," Ross said. He took late President Richard Nixon’s olive branch to China and George H. W. Bush’s Iraq war as examples.

Hua Liming, the former ambassador to Iran, also agreed about the significance of the Silk Road reinvigoration.

"Relations between China and Iran can be traced back more than 2000 years, and the Silk Road is as precious to the bilateral ties as the jewel in a crown," Hua said. "The two countries are historically important to the ancient route and will inevitably become the major countries in revitalizing the past glory of the road."