TEHRAN – Iranian President Masudo Pezeshkian returned to Tehran after finishing his four-day visit to China on Wednesday and attended a military parade in Beijing, 80 years after the end of World War II.
Pezeschkian’s first stop in China was Tianjin city in North Gulf, and he attended the 25th meeting of the SCO Heads of State Conference, the largest gathering of the bloc to date. The Iranian president gave a speech there, emphasizing the need to tackle a “unfair” global order led by the West and create something new through collaboration between the global South.
The next day, a highly anticipated meeting was held between the presidents of Iran and China and the president of China. Pezeshkian said Iran is ready to lift relations to the highest level, learning that he is ready to work with China “in all circumstances,” and stressed that Beijing could count on Tehran as “a strong, determined friend and ally.” Xi says it views Tehran as a “strategic partner” with its “future-view approach.” Both sides agreed that more needs to be done to implement the 25-year cooperation plan signed in 2020.
Iranian analysts wanted the president’s foreign minister, economy minister and defense minister to accompany him. This appears to be true, as Pezeschkian said when he arrived in Tehran that “important”, “strategic” and “important” decisions were made following the discussion with Xi.
“In addition, with the assistance of the Minister of Defense who attended during this trip, discussions will be held regarding security and defense equipment and necessary follow-up will be held in this regard,” declared Pezeschkian. It is believed that Iran is considering purchasing air defense systems and fighter jets from China, but there is no official confirmation of what it is about to buy.
While Iranians have mostly focused on what travel can bring to Iran, other parts of the world have largely discussed how the SCO summit and close interaction between India’s Modi and XI shows that President Split, which is held between Washington and New Delhi, is much greater than expected. Trump’s former security advisor told American media that Trump “shrinked decades of effort” to separate India from Russia and China’s orbit with his tariff policies.
Furthermore, Modi’s presence at the recent SCO conference is seen as an indication that, together with other developments, the new global order requested by Peshshkian is approaching or may already be in place.
“The new international order that everyone has spoken about for years has almost arrived,” said economic and trade analyst Majid Shakkari.
Experts said several factors point to this integration. The Arab state exclusion from Wednesday’s parade after embracing Trump during his tour of West Asia earlier this year, the Siberian pipeline agreement was signed between Russia and China this week, and announced Beijing’s intention to establish a centre for artificial intelligence cooperation with the rest of the SCO. “An important part of the still incomplete and unclear puzzle is the act of balancing India between China and the US,” explained Shakhari.
Pezeshkian’s visit to China also included important interactions with other world leaders. Although there seemed to be no interaction with the Indian Prime Minister, Pezeshkian spent four hours discussing with Russian Vladimir Putin and brief conversations with Pakistan’s Shebaz Sharif. Turkish Recep Tayyip Erdogan was photographed holding Pezeshkian’s hand while walking with him in the hall. The Iranian president has expressed his hopes for Erdogan’s visit to Tehran. Despite recent tensions between Iran and Turkey over the South Caucasus transport programme and the Syrian situation, the two countries appear to support maintaining friendly relations. Tajikistan’s Emomali Ramon also gave affection to Pezeshkian. Both countries share important parts of their history and culture and look at each other with affection.