China, Iran opens ‘new chapter’ in bilateral ties as President Xi Jinping visits Tehran as peacemaker, power broker and major buyer of oil
Chinese president in strong position to pursue Beijing’s agenda by boosting economic relations with Tehran, particularly in China’s ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative, say analysts
Chinese President Xi Jinping says he hopes for a “new chapter” in relations with Iran as he arrived in Tehran, marking the first visit to the Middle East nation by a Chinese president in 14 years.
Before Xi, the last Chinese president to visit the Middle East nation was his predecessor Jiang Zemin in 2002.
When Jiang landed in Tehran then, a United States-led military force had just toppled the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, east of Iran, and then US president George W Bush was rallying support to bring down the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq, west of Iran. Jiang’s talks with Tehran at the time were focused on regional conflicts and security issues.
When Xi landed in the Iranian capital on Friday, however, he came as a peacemaker, a power broker and a big buyer of the region’s oil. Against the backdrop of China’s rising economic power, Xi is in a much stronger position today than Jiang was to pursue the country’s own agenda.
“China is seeking to improve bilateral ties with Iran to start a new chapter of comprehensive, long-term and sustainable relations with the Islamic Republic,” Xi was quoted as saying by Iran’s state news agency IRNA.
As the first state leader to visit Iran since international sanctions against the country were lifted on January 16, Xi oversaw the signing of 17 agreements in areas including politics, economy, security and peaceful nuclear energy, with Iran’s President Hassan Rowhani.
Xi is also the second leader of a UN Security Council member country to visit Tehran after Iran finally struck a nuclear deal with world powers last year. Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Tehran in November.
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China and Iran agreed to expand bilateral ties and increase trade to US$600 billion in the next 10 years, Rowhani said. “With the Chinese president’s visit to Tehran and our agreements, a new chapter has begun in Tehran-Beijing relations,” he said.
Xi will meet Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei later.
During Jiang’s visit to Iran in 2002, Khamenei told Jiang that he respected the wisdom of former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping , while Jiang referred to the Iranian leader as “an old friend of the Chinese people”.
Analysts expect Xi’s conversation with Khamenei to be more forward-looking.
Yin Gang, an expert on China’s Middle East policies with the Chinse Academy of Social Science, was quoted by Caixin as saying that Xi’s visit to Iran was historically significant as it would greatly boost ties between the Asian giant and Shiite state.
“Iran is the place to prove China’s ‘One Belt, One Road’ strategy” as it had the biggest bilateral cooperation potential along the route, Yin said.
Iran is a hub along the “New Silk Road” route, wrote Wang Wen, executive dean of Renmin University’s Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, in an opinion piece for Global Times.
“With Iran as a strategic support point, China’s ‘One Belt, One Road’ strategy will have a solid underpin,” he wrote.
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Mei Xinyu, a Ministry of Commerce researcher, said: “Iran is one of the most important players in the region and a key Chinese partner in the Middle East ... Iran is vital for China’s strategies in the West Africa and North Asia.”
In addition to its rich oil and gas resources, Iran’s large population – over 78 million – also made it an attractive domestic market for Chinese businesses, Mei said.
“With sanctions lifted, it will be easier for China to deepen commercial ties with Iran.”
While the US has named and shamed Chinese businesses, from state-owned Zhuhai Zhenrong to the Bank of Kunlun, for not keeping to the Iran sanctions, overall business between China and Iran has been good despite the international sanctions.
Chinese exports to Iran in 2014 rose 73 per cent from 2013 to US$24.3 billion. China imported US$27.5 billion of goods from Iran in 2014, a rise of 8.3 per cent. Iran crude oil accounted for about 12 per cent of domestic crude oil consumption.
Additional reporting by Reuters and Agence France-Presse
