Amid rising tensions between China and the Middle East with frequent border encounters, the Chinese and Iranian leaders silently drafted a controversial partnership that would give Beijing greater freedom in the Middle East's energy and other sectors.
China-Iran partnership
The decision undermines the United States government's efforts to box the Iranian government from other countries due to its nuclear and military potentials, as reported by The New York Times.
A copy obtained by the newspaper details the partnership in an 18-paged document that would allow China to broaden its presence in several sectors in the Middle East, including banking and telecommunications.
The partnership would have Iran offer China a heavily discounted supply of oil from an Iranian oil trade for the next 25 years, states one Iran official.
The agreement also details extreme military cooperation between the two nations, which would give China a potential foothold in the region that the United States has long-since utilized as a strategic location.
The deal would call for joint training exercises between Chinese and Iranian military personnel, joint efforts in research and weapons development as well as sharing of intelligence information. The cooperation comes under the guise of fighting terrorism, drug and human trafficking and cross-border crimes.
According to the Wall Street Journal, analysts believe the agreement was made so that both countries could show that they have alternatives to the West even if only in name.
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A fellow with the Century Foundation, Dina Esfandiary, co-author of a book that wrote about the relationship of India with China and Russia, said the agreement is a public expression of intent and is an efficient method for spreading useful PR messages.
So far, China has opposed the US's efforts of cutting its connections to Iran's crude-oil supply which still accounts for the majority of Middle Eastern country's exports.
An extended cooperation
Javad Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister publicly announced the 25-year deal in parliament. Extensive details of the agreement have been released by multiple leaks, however. They show the focus on security, military, and economic cooperation between the two countries, as reported by The National.
Chinese President Xi Jinping was the first to propose the partnership when he visited Iran in 2016 and was approved by the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's cabinet last June, said Zarif last week.
Several officials from Iran have openly announced there is a pending international agreement with Beijing. One Iranian official along with other people who have talked with the government about it have confirmed it was the partnership document labeled "final version" dated June 2020.
However, the agreement has not been made public as of yet and has not been sent to Iran's parliament for approval. The delay raises suspicions that Iran is wary of how much it is prepared to give away to the Chinese government.
Officials from Beijing, on the other hand, have also kept information from leaking out and it remains unclear whether President Xi's administration has officially signed the agreement or if it has when the announcement might be made.
