MOSCOW, February 9. /TASS/. The Iranian auto brand Saipa is working with the Russian side on the joint production of spare parts for cars, Mirzai Ghazi Abbas Moslem, official representative of the Eurasian Business Council for Iran, said at a press conference in TASS on Thursday.

"The auto concern Saipa has begun negotiations on joint cooperation with manufacturers of original spare parts for the supply of medium-sized spare parts for Renault and Lada cars to Russian production facilities. Saipa is exploring the possibility of creating an assembly line for its products on the Russian market and plans to increase the export of spare parts to Russia," he said.

According to Moslem, in the near future Iran may team up with Russian carmaker Avtovaz for the production of cars. The Iranian representative also noted that Iran's goal to return to the Russian market is entirely strategic and planned.

"Like Iran Khodro, many of the products by a Russian car company like Avtovaz are also based on Renault technology. This aspect makes relations between the two countries more attractive under sanctions. And this cooperation is not one-sided. Avtovaz is now supplying special Renault engines to Iran Khodro's largest domestic competitor, the Saipa Group. Saipa has agreed to purchase Lada engine bodies to resume production of Renault models, he said.

Prospects for cooperation with China

In turn, Director of the Eurasian Bureau of the China Media Corporation Wang Bin expressed the hope that cooperation between Russia and China on export of Chinese cars will deepen.

"As for the fact that Chinese auto exporters are now cautiously looking at the Russian market, I think they proceed from the economic principle, because they are private enterprises, they must respect their interests, and I think that to a certain extent we all understand their actions. In general, we see that the Chinese people maintain good cooperation in all areas with the Russian Federation, and we are confident that such cooperation will develop," he said.

Wang Bin noted that the development of Chinese-Russian relations is now at an unprecedentedly high level.

"The leaders of our countries have repeatedly stated that the great peoples of Russia and China together will be able to overcome any challenges of our time. I would like to thank the organizers for looking at the world more broadly, because a car is also an instrument of people's diplomacy," the Chinese representative added.

According to him, in the current conditions, when Western auto brands withdraw from the Russian market, China was able to really help its friends and partners by promptly replacing the "runaway" brands. "World analysts suggest that about 100 brands of Chinese cars may appear on the Russian market by the end of this year, these will be cars for every taste and color that can satisfy the needs of all categories, not only consumer, but also industrial ones," Wang Bin said.