Insight 208: How China Continues to Look at Iran
Iran is the linchpin of the Belt and Road Initiative’s overland component. This, coupled with the United States’ withdrawal from the JCPOA and the ongoing US-China trade war, gives Beijing more reason to cooperate with Iran.
Iranian soil and specifically railways cut to the heart of China’s 21st century grand strategy. Iran is the linchpin of the Belt Road Initiative’s (BRI) overland component – a broad swathe of Eurasia Halford MacKinder called the ‘geographical pivot of history’ – and the only land bridge with access to Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Central Asia and the Caucasus, Southwest Asia and the Indian Ocean. Russian territory offers a longer skirt-around and hosts existing railways connecting China and Europe, but Moscow is a potential competitor as China’s military capabilities rise alongside its economic clout. Indeed, Iran also facilitates the International North-South Transport Corridor linking Russia to India, a fact the Commonwealth of Independent States recognized by recently upgrading Iran’s observer status to permanent membership of its Council for Rail Transport.
PDF (4 Pages): Kevjn Lim China Iran
Phi Beta Iota: Iran is central to settling Central Asia, extracting its rare earth minerals, running oil directly to China overland, connecting India to Russia, and more. We are long past due expelling the Zionists from their controlling positions in the US economy, US government, and US society, and focusing on what Ron Paul calls a foreign policy of commerce, friendship, and peace.
See Especially:
China to Use Iran as Gateway to Europe
See Also:
