President Tehran – Masoud Pezeshkian arrived in China on Monday, and Iranian leaders made the country’s longest for the official four-day visit. The visit is expected to strengthen economic and security ties between the two countries and bring important benefits to Iran.
After attending the 25th meeting of the SCO State Council of Chiefs of Urban and Urban City in Northern China, along with 19 other world leaders, Pezeshkian won a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on a train in Beijing and a military parade on Wednesday, marking its 80th anniversary.
At a meeting on Tuesday, Pezeshkian told XI that Iran is ready to deepen cooperation with China in various sectors. He said all aspects of the 25-year cooperation agreement signed in 2020 can be implemented with thorough planning and analysis. Despite the traditionally warm relations between Iran and China, Iranians have shown a growing will in recent years to deepen bilateral cooperation.
China is increasingly seen as an alternative global leader as the Trump administration drives between the US and other countries at an unprecedented pace. Iranians should not also consider China as another country, but as a global force capable of bringing immense benefits to Iran, said Hamed Vafai, Chinese expert and Chinese literature faculty.
“Long-time partners, Iran and China declared their intention to develop a strategic relationship over a decade ago, but that strategic partnership has not yet been fully realized, so it is necessary to create a more common interest between the two countries,” explained Vafayi.
Iran’s strategic geopolitical location and substantial energy reserves make it a key component of China’s major economic initiatives, particularly the belt and road initiatives. Beyond participating in the project, Iran offers great potential as a key security partner. “China can utilize Iran as both a transport corridor and an energy source. Furthermore, given Iran’s important role in Western Asia’s stability, China can resort to Iran to protect the interests of the region. The security of China’s western region can also benefit from cooperation with Iran.”
The gravity of Iranians against the Chinese has been inconsistent for many years. President Hassan Rouhani, who led the country from 2013 to 2021, is famously wasting valuable opportunities to deepen cooperation with China. Conservative political factions accused him of loathing the East and appeasing Western countries, which signed a nuclear deal with Luhani in 2015 and lifted anti-Iran sanctions, but only to revive and strengthen them a few years later.
Pezeshkian highlighted Iran’s commitment in a meeting with XI on Tuesday, saying that China could count Iran as a friend and a “strong and determined ally.” Pezeschkian began his term by defending strong ties with both the East and West, but the war unfolded in Iran in June during negotiations, and the continued exploitation of Europe’s 2015 contract appears to have diminished his desire to improve relations with the West.
Iran fought Israel over the 12-day war and the US also spurred discussions about military exchanges between Tehran and Beijing.
“We have been working with China for quite some time,” said military expert Mahdi Bhaktiari. “For example, during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, China supplied missiles to Iran, and the country was still developing its own capabilities.” Bakhtiari added that C801 and C802 anti-ship cruise missiles purchased from China in 1990 played an important role in the development of Iran’s first-generation domestically-promoted cruise missiles.
Currently, Iran’s most strategic acquisitions from China are advanced fighter jets and air defense systems. “Our military has demonstrated the impressive capabilities of missiles and drones during the recent war, but the need for improvements to fighter jets and air defense systems has become clear. China has cutting-edge technology in both manufacturing.”
Bakhtiari emphasized that future military cooperation with China should expand beyond mere purchasing and include joint manufacturing and technical expertise exchange.
It is still unclear how well Pezeschkian’s trip to China will merge the two countries. However, Xi told the Iranian president during the meeting that Beijing views Tehran as a “strategic partner.” He said the two countries should work in concert to fight “one-sided.”