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Has China betrayed Iran?
China is dependent upon Saudi Arabia for its energy needs and Beijing is making all efforts to have a long-term relationship with Riyadh to address this need.
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China's President Xi Jinping (right) shakes hands with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz during a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 16, 2017. Xi welcomed visiting Saudi King Salman in Beijing as China continues a charm offensive toward the Middle East, a region where it has long kept a low profile.
(AFP/Lintao Yang)
A
lthough China maintains close relations with Iran and Saudi Arabia, the latter has emerged as one of Beijing's leading strategic partners in the region. Tehran is worried about China's recent embrace of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations as Iran believes that China has taken a neutral stand in Iran's rivalry with Saudi Arabia in the Gulf region.
Iran and China have signed a 25-year comprehensive strategic partnership agreement. China is also due to discuss additional economic cooperation, but for the most part, the arrangements remain vague as geopolitical tensions rise.
President Xi Jinping's recent visit to Saudi Arabia, accompanied by his other diplomatic engagements in the region, has left Tehran wondering whether China is changing its priorities in the region, especially in the aftermath of declining American presence. This visit is being seen as a turning point in Beijing's foreign policy toward the Persian Gulf states.
Saudi Arabia has been the largest crude oil supplier to China since 2020. China is dependent upon Saudi Arabia for its energy needs and Beijing is making all efforts to have a long-term relationship with Riyadh to address this need.
After Xi visited Saudi Arabia, the Chinese President and leaders of the Persian GCC issued a joint statement that included three articles with "hostile rhetoric" against Iran.
Iran is asking “compensation” for the joint statement signed between China and the GCC nations. The joint statement explicitly called attention to "the Iranian nuclear file in destabilizing regional activities" and Iran's support for local terrorist organizations.
China's relationships with Saudi Arabia and Iran are very complex. The dragon nation has to carefully manage its relations with both countries to maintain neutrality to protect its trade interest in the region. However, If China crosses its limit, it will have to face retaliation from the Islamic world.
Most Muslim countries, including Iran and Saudi Arabia, are aware of the conditions of the Muslims in Xinjiang, but have refrained from joining the US crusade against China to militarize Xinjiang Muslims.
The reciprocity of the Arab world toward China on Xinjiang can be gauged by the recent visit by a delegation of Muslim scholars and clerics from developing nations who voiced support for China's policies in the far-western region.
The group of more than 30 Islamic representatives from 14 countries — including the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Serbia, South Sudan, and Indonesia — arrived in Xinjiang to visit the cities of Urumqi, Turpan, Altay and Kashgar and to meet with government officials.
Al Nuaimi, chairman of the UAE-based World Muslim Communities Council, who was part of the delegation was quoted by state media as praising efforts by the Chinese government to eliminate terrorism and extremism in Xinjiang as the correct way to protect China's national interests.
Human rights groups believe that China has detained more than one million Uyghurs against their will over the past few years in a large network of what the state calls "reeducation camps”.
A series of police files obtained by the BBC in 2022 has revealed details of China's use of these camps and described the routine use of armed officers and the existence of a shoot-to-kill policy for those trying to escape.
In the aftermath of China taking sides in Gulf politics, the Xinjiang affair can be used against its interests. Iran, Saudi Arabia, and UAE have so far refrained from even mentioning the issue and respect China's national sovereignty over it.
China is doing all it can to fix the UAE declaration against Tehran. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has understood its mistake and is trying to do damage control. The gravity of the situation can be gauged from the reaction of the Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian who said, "The islands of Abu Musa, the Greater Tunb and the Lesser Tunb in the Persian Gulf are inseparable parts of the pure land of Iran and belong to this motherland forever".
The Chinese ambassador to Tehran, Chang Hua, in his statement said, "China decisively supports Iran against foreign intervention and for preserving its national sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national dignity".
China understands that Iran is in a weak position, and it needs to expand its cooperation even with other oil-rich Gulf countries, which are hostile to Iran. Nevertheless, Iran has certain limits that it will never allow any other party to cross. China also knows that Iran, along with GCC states who do not fully trust the US as their ally, need Chinese support.
Beijing understands the complexity of the region and tries to walk a tightrope as long as it can sell its products and expand its influence within the Muslim world.
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The writer is an Albanian historian, board member of the Albanian Muslim Society of Toronto (2010 - 2012), adviser to the chairman of the Muslim Community of Albania (2003-2005) and founding member of the Muslim Forum of Albania (2005).
