TEHRAN - Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei on Monday hailed China's "constructive" role in the development of West Asia.

During a weekly press conference, Baghaei said the reason for Beijing's role in West Asia being welcomed by the regional countries was that "China has played a constructive role in the region's developments all these years."

He emphasized that the friendship between Iran and China was "age-old" and their partnership "strategic."

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The spokesman added that if the Western states compared their role in West Asia with that of China, they would see the difference.