MNA � Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani departed for China on Monday to hold talks with senior officials of the East Asian country in various fields of mutual interest.

Heading a high ranking delegation, Larijani embarked on a visit to China to further deepen ties between the two countries.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Minister of Oil Bijan Zanganeh, Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Farhad Dejpasand, Governor of the Central Bank of Iran Abdolnaser Hemmati, and the head of the Parliament's Energy Committee Fereidoun Hasanvand accompany Larijani in this visit.

Larijani is visiting China upon an invitation of Li Zhanshu, chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, according to Chinese state-run press agency Xinhua.

Iran and China have always had close ties with each other and the �Silk Road� demonstrates the connections between the two civilizations, said Larijani in Tehran before leaving for Beijing.

He highlighted that the visit is aimed at enhancing the level of bilateral ties in political, cultural, parliamentary and scientific fields.