Conversation
08.19.24What to Make of China’s Moves in the Middle East
What does Beijing expect to gain from the intra-Palestinian peace talks? What considerations shape China’s position on the Israel-Gaza conflict, and on the wider geopolitical picture of the Middle East? How does China’s support for Iran factor into...
Conversation
08.20.19What Would a Larger Chinese Presence Mean for the Middle East?
China’s steady expansion of its Middle East footprint and influence poses significant questions for U.S. policymakers. The Middle East has long been a battleground for strategic competition between both regional and global powers. Is it poised to...
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08.08.18China Ignores Trump Threat on Iran, Says Business There Will Continue
CNBC
U.S. sanctions against Iran came into effect Tuesday and President Donald Trump has warned that countries who trade with Tehran will not be able to do business with the U.S. Trump also said he will expand the punitive measures in the coming weeks to...
Conversation
08.01.18What Would a U.S. War—or Peace—with Iran mean for China?
China is the largest buyer of Iranian oil, Iran’s largest trading partner, and arguably its most important positive political relationship. What do Trump’s threats to Iran mean for China’s relationship with the country? And how would a war between...
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05.14.18Iranian Foreign Minister Visits Russia and China to Try to Save Nuclear Deal
CNN
Iranian diplomat visits Moscow and Beijing following US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal.
ChinaFile Recommends
05.08.18No Matter What Trump Says on Iran, China Will Probably Ignore Him
CNBC
In a matter of hours, President Donald Trump is set to announce his decision on the Iran nuclear deal.
China in the World Podcast
04.23.18The Corrections Needed in the U.S.-China Relationship
from Carnegie China
Stephen Hadley, former national security advisor to President George W. Bush, argues that the United States took false comfort in China’s hide-and-bide strategy and failed to recognize that China would increasingly assert itself as it became more...
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07.25.17For China’s Global Ambitions, ‘Iran Is at the Center of Everything’
New York Times
When Zuao Ru Lin, a Beijing entrepreneur, first heard about business opportunities in eastern Iran, he was skeptical. But then he bought a map and began to envision the region without any borders, as one enormous market.
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06.22.17China Is Trying to Pull Middle East Countries into Its Version of NATO
Washington Post
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) held annual summit last week in Kazakhstan, and the most significant outcome was the announcement that India and Pakistan became its first new members since being formed in 2001.
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05.10.17China’s Big Play for Middle East Oil
Bloomberg
China’s Middle East energy footprint has been expanding. In February, it made a deal for a stake in Abu Dhabi’s onshore oil. In March, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz travelled to China to strengthen trade ties, and now a Chinese consortium...
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04.14.17Trump Dumps Russia, Woos China Instead
CNN
This month, during which Trump administration has stepped up US military action in Syria and Afghanistan as he looks to reassert US power, Trump said that “we’re not getting along with Russia at all, we may be at an all-time low.” He and Chinese...
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02.06.17China Protests U.S. Sanctions on Iran, but Sees ‘Clouds of War’ Dispersing over South China Sea
Washington Post
China said Monday it had lodged a formal protest with the United States over a decision to impose new sanctions targeting Iran, which affected a handful of Chinese companies and individuals.
The China Africa Project
02.11.16China’s Risky Gamble to Become a Major Player in the Middle East and North Africa
Chinese president Xi Jinping’s three-country tour of the Middle East and North Africa offers yet another example of Beijing’s expanding drive for increased global influence. During his first visit to the region, Xi traveled to Saudi Arabia, Egypt,...
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07.23.15What Did China Bring to the Iran Talks?
Diplomat
While China stood with the Western powers in insisting Iran give up its ambitions for nuclear weapons, Beijing took Iran’s side in calling for more rapid sanctions relief.
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07.09.15Oil Prices Rise on China Recovery and Iran Deadlock
Wall Street Journal
Oil prices climb as Chinese stocks rebounded, easing concerns about China’s economic growth, and expectations of higher Iranian crude-oil exports receded.
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06.24.14China’s Legendary ‘Crazy Yang’ Oil Trader Dies
Reuters
Legendary Chinese oil trader “Crazy Yang” Qinglong, who started China’s oil business with Iran in the 1990s and was renowned as a hard-drinker who bear-hugged Iranian officials, has died, said company officials and former acquaintances.
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01.02.14China May Raise Iran Oil Imports With New Contract: Sources
Reuters
China may buy more Iranian oil this year as a state trader is negotiating a new light crude contract that could raise imports from Tehran to levels not seen since tough Western sanctions were imposed in 2012, running the risk of upsetting Washington.
Conversation
05.10.13What’s China’s Game in the Middle East?
Rachel Beitarie:Xi Jinping’s four point proposal for a Palestinian-Israeli peace agreement is interesting not so much for its content, as for its source. While China has maintained the appearance of being involved in Middle East politics for years,...
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03.07.13Seized Chinese Weapons Raise Concerns On Iran
New York Times
The Chinese missiles were part of a larger shipment interdicted by American and Yemeni forces in January 2013, allegedly intended for Houthi rebels in northwestern Yemen.
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02.12.13Beijing Slams U.S. Sanctions on Chinese Companies
South China Morning Post
Beijing has denounced U.S. sanctions imposed on four Chinese companies and one individual last week for allegedly breaching a U.S. law designed to hamper the development of weapons of mass destruction by Iran, North Korea or Syria.
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10.10.12Five Points on the Deeply Flawed U.S. Congress Huawei Report
Transpacifica
Chinese telecomms firms painted as shady, but evidence to back up allegations is hidden in report’s classified sections.
Sinica Podcast
04.26.10A Tom Friedman Exclusive
from Sinica Podcast
As you’re probably aware, earlier this month Hu Jintao hotfooted it to Washington to attend a nuclear security summit and discuss potential United Nations sanctions against Iran.While the rest of the Internet was sleeping on this story, we at Sinica...
Sinica Podcast
04.09.10Iran and the Vaccination Scandal
from Sinica Podcast
Welcome back to the Sinica Podcast, a roundtable on current affairs in China featuring China-watchers from a wide range of backgrounds. In this week’s installment, host Kaiser Kuo talks about China’s delicate maneuvering in the Middle East, as well...
Reports
02.17.10The Iran Nuclear Issue: The View from Beijing
International Crisis Group
The revelation in 2009 of nuclear facilities near Qom intensified international criticism of Iran’s opaque nuclear development. As Western countries prepare to pursue tougher sanctions at the U.N., China’s acquiescence as a permanent Security...