Alwaght- Prioritizing 'pivot to the East' in its foreign policy since assumption of power in August 2021, the administration of President Sayyed Ibrahim Raeisi of Iran this time has picked the heart of the world economy to advance this policy. To this end, President Raeisi visited China on Monday for talks with senior Beijing officials, heading a high-ranking delegation.
Private meeting With President Xi Jinping, negotiations between high-ranking officials of the two countries, signing cooperation documents in the presence of the presidents, participating in the joint meeting of businesspeople and economic activists of the two countries, and meeting with Iranians living in China along with meetings and discussions with top Chinese intellectuals and elites are among the main programs of the president and his delegation in Beijing. Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdullahian, Minister of Economy Ehsan Khandozi, Minister of Roads and Urban Construction Mehrdad Bazarpash, Minister of Oil Javad Oji, Minister of Agriculture Javad Sadatinejad, Minister of Industry, Mining, and Trade Reza Fatemi Amin, Governor of Central Bank Mohammadreza Farzin, and chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri are accompanying the president in Beijing visit.
The visit comes two months after Jinping’s visit to Saudi Arabia and a meeting with the (Persian) Gulf Cooperation Council leaders. The meeting, in which a statement running counter to Iranian national sovereignty was issued and overshadowed Beijing-Tehran relations, was given massive coverage in the Arab and Western media outlets that tried to imply that China embraced the Arab countries at the cost of Iran. These media outlets unleashed Sinophobic waves to Iran hoping they could cause a downturn in the bilateral relations of the two countries. Meanwhile, Beijing leaders seek, by strengthening relations with Tehran, to show that this propaganda cannot damage the ties of the two allies. China, whose president signed major economic and trade pacts with Saudi Arabia, is trying to do the same with Iran to create a balance in the Persian Gulf region. Therefore, it is expected that Beijing highlights boost of bilateral relations with Tehran and start laying of new tracks for a new chapter in Chinese foreign policy.
Iran and China have strong relations in energy, transit, agriculture, trade, and investment. China even bought Iranian oil in defiance of the US while Washington’s sanctions on Tehran were at their peak, proving that Western pressures cannot damage this partnership.
According to the statistics released by the Chinese Customs, trade between Iran and China reached $14.6 billion in 2022, showing an 11-percent growth compared to the year before. Given the contracts signed between the two countries in recent years, this figure will grow larger in the future and promise a new season in their relations.
Implementing the 25-year comprehensive cooperation document
The most important point of focus of the two countries in this visit appears to be the implementation of the 25-year strategic comprehensive cooperation pact. Mohammad Jamshidi, the deputy head of the president’s office of political affairs, said that Iran looks forward to extensive economic cooperation with China within the framework of the strategic comprehensive cooperation document.
This document, which has drawn the road map for comprehensive cooperation between the two countries, was signed in March 2021 by their foreign ministers, and it was expected to take effect immediately due to the sanctions imposed on Iran, and even though several meetings between the representatives of Tehran and Beijing were held in the past year, the necessary grounds for its implementation are yet to be prepared. Thus, the president is trying to finalize the document with the Chinese during this trip.
According to this document, which is the largest trade and investment agreement between China and another country, Beijing is planned to invest $400 billion in Iran’s economy and infrastructure, and in case of full implementation, it can bring forth a new chapter in the economic relations between the two countries. FM Amir-Abdollahian said in a speech two months ago that this strategic agreement took effect last year and covers all trade, culture, tourism, industry, defense, and other sectors.
Energy is the central point of this pact, and according to it, China commits to buying oil from Iran for 25 years. The agreement also highlights return of exports revenues to Iran and facilitation of banking relations. This is a triumph for Iran given the American and European push to choke flow of foreign currency to Iran with extensive sanctions.
Due to China’s position in the global economy, this strategic document can reduce the effects of Western sanctions and contribute to Iran’s economic prosperity. That is why Western media and officials expressed their concern about this issue after the pact was signed and went to great lengths to prevent its implementation. After all, they know that it somehow takes from the US the lever of sanctions against Iran.
Nuclear agreement issue
Iran’s nuclear program, which rose to become a top international case over the past decade, is expected to be raised with Beijing during President Raeisi’s stay. As a signatory of the 2015 nuclear deal, officially called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), China has been a constant supporter of the Iranian interests against West’s pressures. Along with Russia, China has always censured American obstruction of nuclear negotiations, unjustified resolutions, and unilateral sanctions against the Islamic Republic and called for unconditional return of Washington to the deal. Since the Westerners in recent months focused on Iran riots and set aside the nuclear talks in hope of change in Iran, Tehran is trying to neutralize the Western pressures with its president’s visit to Beijing. Additionally, since the US is extremely worried about deeper Iranian relations with China and Russia, the visit can force the White House away from its hostile position on Iran. As the Americans admit, the stronger Tehran ties with Beijing and Moscow, the harder to contain their alliance on the world stage.
From another aspect, it is important for China to see the JCPOA revived and the sanctions lifted, because it is the largest buyer of Iranian oil, and sanction relief means easier oil purchases and smoother payments to Iran. Furthermore, with the lifting of sanctions, China will be more confident about its investments in Iran within the framework of the strategic document. Because the Chinese put their economic interests first and invest where they can benefit and keeping the sanctions will make it difficult for Beijing to implement its plans. Experts suggest that during this trip, Raeisi will push to convince the Chinese side to continue oil purchases and even increase energy imports from Iran.
Having in mind that China is increasingly pursuing its Belt and Road Initiative, it works to shore up ties with Iran as one of the transit routes of the initiative, also called New Silk Road. On the other side, Iran has become a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and their presence in this major regional economic bloc can help beef up their ties. China and Russia are trying to uplift the place of the organizations under their dominance, SCO and BRICS, and need help of the emerging powers including Iran to this end in the face of their rivals.
Regional and international issues
Iran and China have many commonalities in other areas and will discuss them. Afghanistan developments which over the past one and half a year caused serious regional obsession are of specific importance for Tehran and Beijing, with both pushing for a solution to the Central Asian country’s challenges with the help of their partners. They find continued insecurity in Afghanistan jeopardizing to security of neighbors. China, making large investments in Afghanistan, is in favor of stability and peace in the war-ravaged country.
Ukraine war is another area the two countries are expected to concentrate on. Since the Westerners accuses Tehran and Beijing of backing up Moscow with arms and intelligence and are seeking to ramp up international pressures on the two allies of Russia, China and Iran are expected to discuss ways to exit this global crisis. Essentially, after Ukraine war, the world order that derived from Bretton Woods Agreement began to unravel, giving place to an emerging multipolar world order led by the Eastern powers. Under this ‘Asian order’, countries work to improve their cooperation and outpower the Western front.
Aid delivery to Syria, a country these days suffering in the aftermath of the powerful earthquake that rocked it last weeks, is also important for Iran and China. The two countries have consistently backed Syria against Western pressures and called for an end to the 12-year crisis. With the US putting the skids under the earthquake rescue operations in Syria, Tehran and Beijing work to send more aids to the Arab country for some relief in these difficult times.
