MEI | Feb 08, 2016
Introduction
China was crucial in assisting Iran escape deep isolation and rejoin
the global economy through the conclusion of the Joint Comprehensive
Plan of Action (JCPOA), establishing itself as an arbiter between the
United States and Iran throughout the P5+1 negotiations. Beijing had
placed as a top priority averting a military confrontation between Iran
and the United States, or Israel, which it calculated would have been
disastrous not only for Iran, but for Chinese interests in the region.
But China’s influential diplomacy in the P5+1 talks was also centered on
its long-time strategy for Tehran. The Chinese aim to gradually grow
with Iran a multi-dimensional partnership based on mutual understanding
and trust, and see in Iran a potential power that could act as its
partner in an Asian arena where many see China’s own rise as a threat.
China’s “positive” and “constructive” role—laudatory descriptions used
by Iranian leaders—in achieving the JCPOA will be an important advance
toward its strategic objectives.[i]
President Xi Jinping’s January 2016 visit to Iran is an attempt to
leverage the political goodwill, created by China’s positive role in the
nuclear negotiations, into expanded cooperation in other areas.
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