China and Iran signed an agreement last year that sealed the next 25 years of close cooperation. Last Friday, Chinese and Iranian foreign ministers met to discuss the start of the deal, when China reaffirmed its opposition to unilateral US sanctions against Iran. The Iran-China alliance is bad news for the US and Europe, as attempts to revive the 2015 Iran deal have failed.
Oil is the magic word, says foreign commentator Bernard Hummelberg: ‘China wants oil, it’s been buying from Iran for some time.’ According to Hummelberg, China does not care about Iran’s nuclear aspirations, after all, it is far from China. What China cares about: ‘Oil and the New China Silk Road’.
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The silk way
According to Hummelberg, there is a chapter in the Iran-China agreement that the new China Silk Road, China Belt and Road Initiative, will run somewhat through Iran. So a lot of money flows through it. China is about energy. They are very thirsty and Iran is a supplier, it pushes its tongue out to sell. This is an important deal and they have their own checkout system so they do not suffer from interruptions with Swift. ‘
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In short: a geopolitical twist in favor of China and Iran. Iran will escape stagnant sanctions so it can give the West a more indifferent approach and not have to make concessions to its nuclear ambitions. China gains access to Iranian raw materials and gains a large sales area.
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The deal is not possible
The United States and European countries involved in the nuclear deal should be concerned. Chances of a resumption of those talks based on the 2015 agreement were already slim, as Iran has been enriching since Trump’s exit from the talks. Europe wants to bottle that gene, and only the United States will join when enrichment turns upside down.
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According to Hummelberg, China is now turning it around: it will not wait until those talks resume and say there is no reason not to trade with Iran. “It thwarts Western plans that see Iran as a major source of unrest in the Middle East. China has a long nose and we can not help it.
