Saddam Hussein
Beijing and Tehran are reported to have put together a comprehensive military and trade partnership. The Beijing-Tehran Strategic deal would make way for about $400 billion worth of Chinese investments into Iran’s key sectors, such as energy and infrastructure, over the next 25 years.
The idea was put forward during the visit of the President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping to Tehran in 2016, that was later welcomed by both sides. By latest, the proposed draft has been approved by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani during the last couple of weeks.
The development came at a time when the Iranian economy has been incapacitated by extensive US sanctions, which have guaranteed that any company in the world that deals with Iran would be cut off from the global financial system. For Iran, such a deal could provide the besieged country a much-needed economic salvation.
Tehran evaluates the progression of bilateral relations with Beijing by envisioning the global realities and diverse capacities and capabilities, the two countries can mutually benefit from the Beijing-tehran strategic deal. In this backdrop, senior officials of the two countries laid the cornerstone of relations by planning their long-term relations over a 25-year period. The overall framework of the plan has been developed over the years.
Iran-China comprehensive partnership is a clear roadmap for the future relations between the two sides. It is pertinent to note that China would be flexing its muscle as the top economic power in the near future. On the other hand, Iran is of utmost significance in Middle East. The implementation of comprehensive plan can be handy in harnessing shared interests and addressing common issues.
“The draft agreement with Iran shows that unlike most countries, China feels it is in a position to defy the United States, powerful enough to withstand American penalties, as it has in the trade war waged by President Trump,” stated the New York Times report. On the other hand, the US State Department spokesperson said the US would continue to “impose costs on Chinese companies that aid Iran”.
Concurrently, in parallel with this positive development, the adversaries of the promotion of fruitful regional partnerships are propounding false interpretations that are just rumors than facts. They see the move to be played against interests of other countries, as they waged a propaganda against China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) earlier.
In contrast, China seems to continue its balanced approach in the Middle East and Gulf; evidence of this could be found in the meeting that happened few days ago. While the China-Iran meetings were dominating headlines, the ninth China-Arab States Cooperation Forum (CASCF) Ministerial Meeting was underway, virtually, in Jordan on July 06. This takes place every two years, bringing together the foreign ministers of all the Arab League states with their Chinese counterparts to map the next two years of cooperation.
However, the Washington-Beijing tug of war arriving in Iran would be a nail-biting test for New Delhi, which has over the past few years been trying to balance its relations with the US and Iran, cautiously.
For India, Beijing-Tehran strategic deal raises some critical concerns. The Chabahar port project, often seen as India’s strategic chef-d’oeuvre in Iran, is also envisioned as a bridge between India, Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia. The port is also seen as a counter-balance to Gwadar in Pakistan, which was built and run by China as part of its CPEC design. The distance between the two ports is only 172 km, and both Gwadar and Chabahar are in fact often postured as “sister ports” by Tehran and Islamabad, regardless of India’s diverging stance on the same.
Earlier also, Iran has not hesitated by leveraging both China and Pakistan as potential investors for the Chabahar Special Economic Zone, challenging Indian public narratives of Chabahar ostensibly being an India-exclusive project.
In another surprising move, Iran has called off the rail project from Chabahar to Zahedan with India, citing delay in finances, stated The Hindu. The newspaper is of the view that the development materialized post Beijing-Tehran understanding regarding the deal. Though, Iranian authorities have refuted the claim and argued that such a deal was never inked in the first place.
Whatever the case may be, the Sino-Persian deal is definitely going to cloud New Delhi’s interests in the region. India, playing as a bad cop for so long, has finally been exposed. The country, due to its hypocrisy and hegemonic designs is fast losing it neighbors and friends. To explain India’s situation, one would say it does not need an enemy, it in fact an enemy of its own. The ‘elephant’ state is on the path to self-destruction.
At first, New Delhi lost Afghanistan due to its dirty politics of proxy wars, without paying any regard to the collateral damage Afghan society has to bear. India is also growing impatient due to its increasing irrelevance in Kabul. Then it lost its close ally Nepal, due to Indian expansionist policies. Now it is losing Iran, as Tehran is pragmatic enough to gauge Indian interests which solely serve India and not both. However, Iran would not let go of the relationship with India anytime soon. It will continue to engage New Delhi where mutually beneficial.
It is time, both US and India realize that there is a lot to lose in continuing old school games of dirty politics, proxy wars, coercion and expansionism. It is time for cooperation across the board. Let all benefit from each other rather than hurt each other. Let all join hands to make the world a better place. Otherwise, the losers would stand alone.
The author Saddam Hussein is a Development Economist, while he serves as a Research Fellow at Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), and Program Officer for CRSS’ sister organization – Afghan Studies Center, Islamabad. He tweets @saddampide.
