In the joint statement, the leaders supported all efforts, including the UAE initiative, for “a peaceful solution to the dispute” over the three Iranian islands of Greater and Lesser Tunbs and Abu Musa though dialogue with respect to the international laws and legitimacy.
This Chinese stance, which drew strong reaction from Iran, was unexpected. In reaction, Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian said the three islands are inseparable part of Iran’s territory and that Tehran is uncompromising to any side when it comes to its sovereignty.
Following this decisive reaction and some other internal reactions, the Chinese immediately thought of reparation and the Chinese ambassador in Tehran said that Beijing respects the territorial integrity of Iran and that the Chinese president’s visit to Riyadh was also to help the peace and stability of the region and in the coming days Chinese deputy prime minister will visit Iran. The Iranian reaction seems to have made it crystal clear to the Chinese government that Iran does not tolerate interference in its home affairs by any side.
China signed a statement lacking historical documents and grounds
It is not new that Arab rulers accuse Iran of destabilizing the region and occupying the three Persian Gulf islands, but the signing of this statement by the president of China that has had close relations with Iran in recent years was unexpected. Xi signed a statement that promotes claims by the Arab sheikhdoms against the Iranian territory.
The UAE’s claim of the sovereignty over the three islands has no historical documentation, and the repeated blackening by the Arab rulers is driven by those who try to challenge Iran’s influence in the region with such claims. Meanwhile, Beijing leaders should have had sufficient information about this issue before signing the documents to make sure what they sign does not conflict with the territorial integrity of countries. This is contrary to the foreign policy positions of Xi who declared at the National Congress of the Communist Party that his country will not interfere in the internal affairs of others. Such statements that target Iran’s national interests are not compatible with the friendly relations of Iran and China.
From another aspect, China which is largely annoyed and even its interests hurt by the foreign claims about its sovereignty, in Taiwan case for example, should know how sensitive it is to meddle in home affairs of other countries. Although Western countries claim that Taiwan is independent of China’s sovereignty and challenge the ‘One China’ policy, Iran has always supported territorial unity of China and has never supported the Western positions and stood by Beijing as much as possible.
Iran a trustworthy partner
Although it is unclear what the real intention of the Chinese leader is behind signing this statement and Beijing has not taken an official stance on the issue, it is highly clear that Arab countries with which China is seeking to consolidate relations lack an independent foreign policy required to establish strategic relations with China.
Although the Arab rulers did not support the Western sanctions and pressures on Russia in the Ukraine crisis, they have been under the yoke of the US and Europe for seven decades and are still dependent on the Americans in terms of security, and would never sacrifice long-standing and strong relations with the West for relations with China. The Saudis themselves implicitly admit that their goal in establishing relations with China is to create a balance between the East and the West, and they do not shift from the West to the East altogether. It is noteworthy that the Arab monarchies expressed their desire to broaden relations with China when the US withdrew from Afghanistan and they felt concerned that Washington might one day abandon them in a similar situation. The concerns intensified after the start of the Ukraine crisis and their creeping to the East picked up the pace.
But Iran’s partnership with China is a different story. For more than four decades, Iran has become an obstacle to the expansionist and interventionist policies of the West, especially the US, in the sensitive regions of West Asia and the Persian Gulf, and Tehran’s role makes one of the main pillars of the world’s drifting towards a new international order.
The Chinese know very well that in the way to new world order lay many challenges whose settlement requires the company of its strategic allies Russia and Iran. Actually, the Chinese are certain that a bird in hand is worth two in the bush. After all, over the past year, Iran has shown that it has put all of its eggs in the East’s basket. Membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), bilateral and multilateral pacts with Eurasian states and the push to join BRICS bear witness to Tehran putting its foreign policy on East-leaning basis. The signing of a 25-year strategic agreement with China, whose value is estimated at $400 billion, shows that even if Tehran interacts with the West in case of sanctions lifting, China is still the priority of this Tehran’s foreign policy. In a way, Iran is a reliable partner and does not seek to capitalize on tensions between China and the US.
On the other hand, the big developments we are witnessing around the globe remind us that the world’s powerful and influential countries never abandon their strategic partners because it is in crucial junctures that the real friends from fake ones are distinguished. Iran has shown it is a worthy ally for China and Russia on which they can count in the critical conditions.
On the other hand, the Chinese, who have designed major policies for their upcoming superpowership, will only pass through Iran on the East-West Corridor, which means that they at a broader level will never seek to change their strategy towards Iran. In the Belt and Road project, of which the West Asia is an important part, Iran, due to its geopolitical position, plays as a bridge between East and West and it is unthinkable that the Chinese may intend to circumvent Iran by signing unfounded statements with the Arab states.
Every country has the right to establish relations with other countries in line with its strategic interests, and China is no exception. Behind establishing strategic relations with Saudi Arabia, the Chinese are pushing to undermine their traditional rival the US, not their partner Iran. The announcement of Xi’s visit to Riyadh came just when a challenge struck Saudi Arabi-US relations after the decision of the Saudis to cut oil production within the OPEC+ framework. Even the Western media highlighted the political aspect of this Xi’s trip more than its economic one, saying it is made with the aim of confronting the US. Of course, the Saudis and their media outlets hijacked it and painted it as an impairment of Iran.
Given the Chinese officials’ remarks that suggest Beijing
has realized that it made a mistake by signing the statement, it is
unclear if Xi really read what he signed or trusted the Arabs and signed
it without awareness of the details. But what is obvious is that such
statements would not harm Tehran-Beijing’s strategic relations.
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