Arab News:

Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist. 

Amid the heightened tensions between Iran and the US, cooperation between Tehran and China has reached its highest level since the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979. The ties between China and Iran are strengthening on three fronts: Strategic, military and geopolitical.

In late August, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. The main objective of the meeting was to formulate a road map on how to enhance the strategic partnership between the two nations.  According to Petroleum Economist magazine, China declared that it is planning to invest $280 billion in Iran’s energy sector, including the oil, gas and petrochemical industries. Beijing has also pledged to invest $120 billion in Iran’s industrial infrastructure. In addition, China will be deploying up to 5,000 security officers in the Islamic Republic in order to secure large Chinese projects.

These enormous investments, which will reportedly be implemented during the first five years of the agreement, mark a new level of cooperation between Iran and China.

This ought to be viewed as an economic opportunity for both Beijing and Tehran. Thanks to the US’ crippling sanctions on Iran’s energy sector, China sees fewer competitors vying to reap profits from Iran’s oil, gas and petrochemical sectors.

European governments and corporations have been hesitant to invest in Iran’s energy sector due to the repercussions of US sanctions. Large corporations — such as the French oil giant Total — immediately ended their projects in Iran once the Trump administration re-imposed sanctions. In addition, Western companies do not appear to be willing to re-enter Iran’s market anytime soon, even with the EU’s new special purpose vehicle.

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