Following the news about Paris last week, one of the most important was seen in the news, which was the negotiation of the Foreign Minister in Beijing on the twenty-five-year plan of the strategic alliance between Iran and China. A strategic alliance with China is practical and beneficial for several reasons: The first thing that must be measured in a strategic alliance is the benefit of this particular relationship for the other party, which is the only guarantee of the operationalization and benefit of such programs. China has sufficient motivation for deep and extensive cooperation with Iran due to various reasons:
Remoteness from the region and strategic presence: Among the world powers, Russia is almost the only one that plays its roles directly and immediately due to its geographical proximity to the Middle East region: it is able to send fighters from its territory, it does not need much to establish military bases in other countries, and even civilian logistics can be easily handled by it. But China, like the United States and to some extent Europe, needs a reliable partner for its regional presence due to the distance. A presence that, by any measure, cannot be considered a strategic and comprehensive presence so far, despite trade exchanges.
Trade exchanges: China's trade exchanges with almost all countries in the world are impressive, regardless of their political orientation. So much so that this country has the largest trade partnership with the United States itself, which is of course an influential issue in the equations related to the second largest economy in the world. At the same time, Iran's extensive trade exchanges with China are one of the elements that guarantee the durability of the relationship. Because, unlike many countries in the world, the trade relationship between Iran and China is a two-way relationship. Because Iran also traditionally exports oil to this country in exchange for extensive imports from China.
Military exchanges: As stated in the international agreements reached by Iran along with the United Nations resolutions so far, many of Iran's arms bans on the purchase and sale of military equipment will end in the coming years. By strengthening its strategic relationship with China, Iran can exploit the vacuum created by the absence of the West – the US – and persuade and convince China to sell advanced military items, especially fighter jets. In addition to what it has been able to procure from Russia – the S-300 missile defense system – China will probably be more willing to provide its own up-to-date military systems due to its lack of strategic influence in the region. This will require comprehensive planning and advance negotiations with this country.
Energy: One of the most important components of cooperation between Iran and China is the issue of energy. Unlike Russia, which is itself a source and exporter of oil and gas – and therefore a natural competitor to Iran – China is one of the largest consumers and importers of energy in the world, especially from Iran. On the other hand, China's economy is also largely state-owned and its oil consumer is backed by a superpower like China, and as a result, under sanctions pressures such as those we are witnessing today, Chinese consumers can be among the most confident in purchasing energy from Iran. This will provide a kind of mutual guarantee: both Iran can confidently count on the sale of a guaranteed portion of its oil in any situation, and China, whose growing economy depends on energy and fossil fuels for its survival, can have guaranteed energy purchases away from the influence of the United States.
China's Competition with India: Along with all the international equations and the competitions it has, especially with the United States in the region and the world, China is also in a kind of constant competition with India, which increases the country's need to be present on India's eastern borders and control this future competitor in trade and strategic influence in the Persian Gulf and especially the Sea of Oman. Without harming Iran-India relations, this dispute and competition could become an opportunity for Iran, in line with what is happening in many parts of the world today, and could bring additional benefits to our country from all sides.
China as a permanent member of the Security Council: In the current order prevailing in the international space, and especially considering the potential and actual pressures being exerted on Iran in this space, the existence of a guaranteed alliance with members with veto power in the United Nations Security Council that can guarantee that Iran will not be sanctioned by this international body in the future is of strategic importance. Especially since due to the principle of such relations, other members, especially the United States, face fundamental deterrence and will not initially consider such a thought. Of course, given the experiences available in this matter, it must be ensured that neither this aspect nor other aspects of this strategic partnership will be sacrificed to the interests of other contracting countries in different circumstances.
China's intense trade and strategic competition with the United States: The fact is that the intense trade competition between the United States and the United States is genuine and cannot be hidden. It seems that the current US administration has artlessly turned this issue into an acute and noisy issue, but a glance at the different conditions between the two countries shows that this fundamental competition will always exist and will even increase. In any case, China is seeking to surpass the United States in the economy in the coming years and become the determinant of the global economic equations. This issue itself is a serious potential for investment in Iran and, on the one hand, will help China achieve its goal through geopolitical and energy-oriented advantages, and on the other hand, will put Iran on the safe side.
The issue of Iran and the United States: The most important strategic priority of Iran's foreign policy since the beginning of the 21st century and until the coming years is to overcome the threats and sanctions that have been imposed on it by regional rivals, mainly the United States, in such a way that it can both maintain its image at home and abroad and at the same time not be forced to make fundamental changes in the face of pressure policies. The best and least expensive way to overcome these obstacles is to put the rival powers at each other's mercy so that through this competition and without harming the main issue - Iran - the issue is resolved and the existence of this issue with its newly defined identity is recognized and accepted.
Europe and China: Along with China as a strategic partner, the importance of Europe should not be underestimated, given the political influence of this union in the international arena. Although Europe and China are on opposite sides of the international game, by moving away from the bipolar atmosphere of the Cold War, today's international relations show the capacity to look at Europe as the next priority, as well as the source of many technologies and energy destination in the long term, in the style of many countries, along with strategic cooperation with China. Because reason dictates that we should avoid putting all our eggs in one basket as much as possible.
The essence of the discussion is that, in addition to all the above strategic discussions, we should distance ourselves from the Cold War and 20th century thinking and, by designing a long-term foreign policy under the principles determined by the country, by partnering with a power like China, we should increase the speed of de-escalation on the international stage to our advantage. Because with the involvement of a country like China with all its strategic interests, the cost of hostility with Iran will increase for the United States, and as a result, Iran will be removed from the priority of this country's foreign policy. At the same time, it should always be kept in mind that the way to increase the efficiency of any relationship in the international arena is to have competing partners at the same time: it is neither correct to look to the West nor to the East; the correct view is to establish the maximum balance of partners with priority commensurate with what can be obtained from them for the benefit of national interests. Benefits that, given the experience of the past decades, can be almost certain that they will not be provided by either the United States or Russia in the long term, and the long-term design of Iran's foreign policy can only establish a proportionate balance between these two in favor of close cooperation with two other balanced poles, namely China and Europe.
Shargh Daily link
File
