China's Balancing Act: Staying on Good Terms with All, Says Ex-US Official

In an interview with ANI, Finer said China's diplomatic response so far has largely focused on condemning US actions and calling for de-escalation while offering rhetorical support to Iran.

"Well, you've seen what they've said. You know, I think on a diplomatic level, their messages have been twofold. One, condemning what the United States has done, calling for an end to the conflict, and providing rhetorical support for Iran. Two, they're not doing a whole lot to actually help Iran. At least overtly, it doesn't look like. It doesn't look like they are, well, they're not doing anything militarily," he said.

Finer noted, however, that China and Iran have had long-standing economic ties, and Beijing has historically provided capabilities that contributed to Iran's military development.

"So they have had, though, historically, quite an intertwined economic relationship and certainly have provided Iran over time with capabilities that have been inputs into Iran's military," he said.

He added that the effectiveness of such support remains debatable, particularly given Iran's military performance in recent confrontations with Israel and the United States.

"How successful that work has been, I think, is debatable given how poorly, for the most part, Iran's military has performed against Israel and against the United States," Finer said.

Finer also stressed that China maintains strong relationships across West Asia and does not necessarily prioritise Iran over other regional partners.

"China has very important relationships throughout the Middle East. It's not like they necessarily prioritise Iran above the United Arab Emirates, above Saudi Arabia, above other countries where they are customers for energy, where they have kind of deep connections," he said.

According to Finer, China's broader strategy is to maintain balanced relations with multiple countries rather than making deep security commitments.

"China's strategy tends to be to try to be on good terms with everybody and try not to make commitments that are too big to any one country," he said.

He also suggested that Beijing could use the ongoing conflict as part of its global messaging strategy against Washington.

"The last thing I'd say that I'm seeing from China, and I think you'll see this increase, is trying to use what is happening as a propaganda lever against the United States. You know, America is a warlike country. We've told you this before. China loves peace. We don't go around attacking other countries. America does," he said.

Finer added that China's global messaging could aim to gain informational advantages internationally.

"I think you are going to see this sort of messaging coming out of China to try to achieve kind of information victories around the world," he said.

Explaining the broader difference between Washington's and Beijing's strategic approaches, Finer said China focuses primarily on protecting its own interests while avoiding commitments that could drag it into conflicts.

"Look, again, as I said, they have taken a totally different strategic approach than the United States. Try to be on decent terms with everybody. Don't make commitments that pull you into certain conflict from a security perspective and look out first, foremost, maybe exclusively for your own interests," he said.

"It doesn't maybe make them the greatest partner. That's part of why I think China does not have alliances around the world in the way the United States does. But what it does do for them is it prevents them from being overstretched, overcommitted in the way that the United States can sometimes feel," Finer added.

- ANI