The meeting took place on Tuesday, amid Iran's concerns over a recent Chinese-UAE statement containing declarations about Tehran's nuclear program and challenging its sovereignty over three Persian Gulf islands. The Chinese ambassador was summoned to the Iranian Foreign Ministry on Saturday.
"China views its ties with Iran from a strategic perspective and will not waver in its determination to develop their comprehensive strategic partnership," Hu said, as quoted in a report of by the state-run Xinhua news agency published on the Chinese State Council's website.
Hu added that China firmly supported Iran in resisting external interference, protecting national sovereignty, territorial integrity and national dignity.
The controversial statement was released during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to the United Arab Emirates for the first China-Arab States Summit and the China-Gulf Cooperation Council Summit.
Last week, Xi arrived in Saudi Arabia and took part in the first China-Arab States Summit and the China-Gulf Cooperation Council Summit. The joint statement made at the end of the summit contained sections on Iran's nuclear deal and three islands in the Persian Gulf - Abu Musa, the Greater, and the Lesser Tunb - whose territorial affiliation is disputed by the UAE.
On December 10, the Chinese Ambassador to Iran was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where he was communicated Iran's disagreement with the joint statement.
The disputed islands — Abu Musa, the Greater Tunb, and the Lesser Tunb — have been controlled both by Arab tribes and the Persian Empire at different periods. Though the UAE claims sovereignty over the islands, all three territories have been de facto controlled by Iran for over 50 years. In 1980, the UAE took its claim to the United Nations, but it was rejected by the UN Security Council, and the case was closed.