The Islamic leadership in Iran has been under political pressure for months. Relations with the West are also suffering. In China, Iran is now campaigning for a deepening of the partnership.
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi has traveled to China for talks for the first time since taking office. In view of the recent turmoil with the West, Tehran wants to expand its relations with the People’s Republic.
The Iranian state news agency IRNA reported at the beginning of Raisi’s three-day visit that 20 declarations of intent were signed on Tuesday, including in the areas of trade, agriculture and the environment. Raisi is accompanied by Foreign Minister Hussein Amirabdollahian.
China is Iran’s largest economic partner
As a major buyer of Iranian oil, the world’s second largest economy is an important economic partner for Tehran. Both countries signed a 25-year cooperation agreement last year. At the same time, Iran’s president is expanding relations with Russia, which China is giving political backing to in the Ukraine war. According to Iranian state media, China is Iran’s largest economic partner with a trade volume equivalent to more than 25 billion euros.
Iran’s political leadership has been under severe pressure at home since protests against the Islamic system of government broke out in September. Because of the violent action taken by the security forces against demonstrators and arms deliveries to Russia, the EU and the USA have imposed new, severe sanctions on Tehran. In view of the sanctions, Iran has repeatedly emphasized that it wants to develop relations with the East in the form of a “resistance economy”.
Iran and China against “hegemony and unilateralism
In a guest article in the party organ “People’s Daily”, Raisi wrote that China and Iran have a long history of cooperation as comprehensive strategic partners. In today’s international situation, both countries are fighting against “hegemony and unilateralism,” wrote Iran’s president, which in China usually means US policy.
Iran wants to expand its cooperation with China in industry, technology and science, Raisi wrote. He praised China’s development and its “contribution to the world”. The Chinese initiative of the “New Silk Road”, which envisages billions in investments in infrastructure projects in other countries, binds the fates of both peoples, said Iran’s president. The declarations of intent include cooperation in various areas, including communication. According to a report by the broadcaster NBC, Chinese companies have also sold surveillance technology to Iran in the past.
The Eastern strategy is also met with criticism in Tehran. Even supporters of the system complain that the orientation contradicts the principle of the Islamic Republic of making itself dependent on neither the East nor the West.
After the free fall of the currency, many Iranians are longing for a return to the Vienna nuclear deal of 2015, which held out the prospect of international sanctions being lifted. Negotiations to revive the deal, in which Germany is also involved, have been on hold for months.
Source: Stern
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