Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reports that trade between Iran and China topped 45 billion U.S. dollars last year.

Iranian ambassador to China, Mahdi Safari, said trade between Iran and China surged an immense 55 percent year-on-year to over 45 billion dollars in 2011.

Chinese customs authorities also said on Monday that China’s full-year crude oil imports from Iran jumped 30 percent to 27-point-seven million tons in 2011 compared to the previous year.

China has also invested up to 40 billion dollars in Iran’s oil and gas sectors over the past several years, while Western countries have been strengthening sanctions against the Middle Eastern country.