Calls for China to head Iran inspections offer opportunities
Calls for Beijing to lead new inspections of Tehran's nuclear programme offer chance for China to be more active in the Middle East
After an interim deal on Iran's nuclear programme was struck on Saturday, there have been calls for Beijing to take the lead in inspections of Tehran's facilities by the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency, an intermediary close to the negotiations has said.
Jean-Christophe Iseux von Pfetten, president of the Royal Institute of East-West Strategic Studies, and several analysts said if approached by the IAEA, Beijing would consider taking on the role partly in an effort to have more influence in the Middle East.
There is a push for stronger involvement of the Chinese [in the inspections]
"The Chinese government now wants to be active in the Middles East, and it wants to do this hand-in-hand with the US," said Von Pfetten, who has advised Chinese authorities on economics and international affairs and has organised meetings over the Iran nuclear crisis.
He said a proposal was floated in the Geneva negotiations over the weekend that calls for China to play a "more important" role in a new IAEA inspection regime.
The idea was expected to be discussed in the next round of Iran-IAEA negotiations, von Pfetten said.
"The inspection will still be under the leadership of IAEA, but there is a push for stronger involvement of the Chinese," he said during a visit to Hong Kong on Monday.
Echoing his comments, Yao Jide, an expert on China-Iran relations at Yunnan University, said there were calls within China to take on a more active role in future IAEA inspections as a step to increase Beijing's international clout.