Opinion – The Need for a More Assertive Diplomatic Stance from China on Iran |
The conflict between the United States and Israel against Iran continues. The Iranian regime, despite the substantial damage it has sustained, is fighting fiercely for its survival with little regard for what it must sacrifice to ensure it. The United States has risked too much economically and diplomatically, only to end up relatively alone in a war where its objectives appear too abstract and the means employed clearly insufficient to achieve them. Israel, while having clearer objectives related to the perceived existential threat posed by the Ayatollah regime, seems to have bitten off more than it can chew, overwhelmed by the aggressive Iranian response and by relative international diplomatic isolation.
In such a stalemate, the position of non-belligerent powers carries significant weight. Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz has transformed a local conflict into one with global consequences. Despite the relative caution shown by the major powers, the message from non-belligerent countries has been clear: these nations do not wish to be drawn into a conflict they did not start and in which there appear to be no clear gains, not even for the initiators. In this respect, China’s stance is quite revealing.
At first glance, China’s relatively passive attitude toward the conflict may seem somewhat perplexing. China and Iran have maintained close political and economic ties for decades. Despite the sanctions imposed, China accounts for approximately 80% of Iran’s oil exports, and the Chinese yuan has become indispensable for the survival of the Iranian regime. Iran, for its part, is a major energy supplier for China and a strategically vital point within its Belt and Road Initiative.
With this in mind, the reasons for China’s relative passivity and restraint toward the American and Israeli attempts to eliminate the Iranian regime lie in a series of deeper political and economic factors. First, in the decades since its opening to the outside world in 1979, China has developed a rather distinctive style of diplomacy based primarily on flexible strategic........