While talks resume in Vienna (Austria), Monday, November 29, around Iranian nuclear power, China, signatory of the 2015 agreement from which the Trump administration withdrew in 2018, does not believe any more than the West in a spectacular breakthrough. “The result of this round of discussions will above all make it possible to have a clearer description of the respective positions of the Joe Biden administration in the United States and of the administration [d’Ebrahim] Raïssi in Iran ”, Niu Song, professor at the Institute of Middle Eastern Studies at Shanghai University, explains in a long article published on Monday by the China Daily and the agency New China.
We have to wait for the last paragraph to see which side Beijing leans on: “China, one of the most fervent advocates of the talks, will urge the United States and Iran to resolve their differences through negotiation and to manage conflicts effectively while helping Iran protect its rights and rights. legitimate interests “, the article concludes, citing this researcher.
Beijing is opposed in particular to the sanctions imposed by the United States against Iran. While Washington believes this is the main weapon they have against Tehran, “China believes that they only worsen the situation”, explain to World Wang Jin, director of the Institute for Middle Eastern Studies at Northwest China University in Xian. Moreover, this expert recognizes that, despite the embargo, China buys Iranian oil: “We cannot do otherwise and besides, we are not the only ones. Turkey and India also buy it ”, he points out. Despite everything, he judges that “China does not have the capacity to put pressure on Iran”.
“Reverse strategy”
This is not necessarily the point of view of the West even if no one thinks that Beijing can dictate its law to Tehran. Both countries reject “American imperialism” they judge “Destabilizing factor” in the Middle East as in the rest of the world. Since 2009, China has been Iran’s main trading partner, and relations between the two countries continue to strengthen. Despite the embargo, the two countries signed a twenty-five-year trade agreement in March for no less than $ 400 billion (€ 355 billion). “This is the culmination of Xi Jinping’s visit to Iran in 2016 but, due to US sanctions, there has not been much concrete fallout so far,” judge Wang Jin.
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