China's $400B Iran Bet at Risk as West Asia Conflict Escalates

The vision of a secure overland energy corridor from Iran to China "insulated from US naval power" has given way to uncertainty, marking a sharp strategic setback for Beijing, a report has stated.

"China stands to lose heavily, both materially and geopolitically, from the devastating attack that the US and Israel have launched on Iran. Located at the crossroads of global commerce, the countries in the Middle East are a logistical bridge and an emerging ground for strategic investments. China has been making investments in Iran since 2005," a report in 'Asian News Post' detailed.

"Since the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Tehran in 2016 to sign the Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing has been working to turn Iran into the cornerstone of its Middle East strategy, establishing for itself a base in the region to counter the influence of the US and setting up corridors of trade to Africa and Europe. In 2021, Beijing signed with Tehran a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement, pledging US $400 billion in long-term infrastructure in Iran and in the purchase of Iranian oil," it added.

According to the report, with the outbreak of the conflict, China's grand strategy in Iran lies in tatters.

"Chinese investments in fixed assets are at great risk; the supply of oil from Iran that China was getting at concessional terms is now uncertain. With a regime change in Iran imposed by Washington on the cards, China also stands to lose the corridors of trade through Iran it had planned," it noted.

The report stressed that China has taken no decisive steps to end the war, limiting its response to a few statements of concern, and called on the US and Israel to cease attacks on Iran.

Beijing, it said, may calculate that a prolonged conflict would serve its interest as it would divert the attention of Washington from the South China Sea and the Indo-Pacific, making Taiwan an easy victim of a Chinese invasion.

The report further said, "But Beijing's view may be myopic. In Venezuela, and now in Iran, China has failed to come to the aid of its friends and allies when under attack from the US. In the process, Beijing stands to earn the disrepute of being an unreliable friend, keen to stay out of conflicts and not come to the aid of its ally. Besides, the impression will spread that China is not militarily strong enough to take on the US."

- IANS