Trying to Disrupt the Relationship between Iran and China

It has been a long time since the United States joined Saudi Arabia to supply China’s demand for oil in order to disrupt the relationship between Tehran and Beijing. But the question is, are the U.S. and its allies capable of turning China against Iran?

Asia Times reports that the efforts of the U.S. and Saudi Arabia were kept secret, but they are getting more visible now. The U.S. is trying to supply China’s demand for oil with the help of Saudi Arabia to reduce China’s dependence on Iran, so that Beijing would be convinced to vote for a new round of sanctions against Iran.

China was worried that by getting closer to the West in the sanctions against Iran, it would face problems supplying the portion of its oil that is imported from Iran. Documents released by WikiLeaks show how American and Saudi Arabian diplomats are trying to convince China to vote for sanctions against Iran. These diplomats are discussing how to prepare Beijing against Iran by significantly increasing Saudi Arabia’s oil exports to China.

In one of the documents released, American and Saudi Arabian officials have had serious negotiations to implement their plans against Iran. Now the question is whether the U.S.–Saudi Arabia efforts succeed in convincing China.

What is obvious is that the efforts of the U.S. and Saudi Arabia are bilateral. The officials of both countries believe that they can convince Chinese officials to vote against Iran, but what they’ve forgotten is that the economic relationship between Iran and China is not restricted to oil. Saudi Arabian officials have told Chinese officials that if they want Saudi Arabian oil, they should pressure Iran.

These plans started in 2009 but have yet to be successful, and Chinese officials still insist on having a relationship with Iran. Saudi Arabia is currently China’s largest oil supplier, and this country exports more oil to China than to the U.S.

The past rounds of U.N. sanctions against Iran have not been able to solve the Iranian nuclear crisis. The U.S. and its allies claim that Iran’s nuclear program has military ambitions, but Iran still insists that it has a peaceful nuclear program. Experts believe that China is now at a crossroads between Iran and the West. Oil is important for China, but Chinese companies are also widely active in Iran, and China has heavily invested in Iran.

Considering the volume of trade and the economic relationship between Iran and China, China’s support for a new round of sanctions against Iran can damage Beijing’s interests. Beijing has tried to distance itself from the Iranian nuclear crisis so that its relationship with Iran would not be threatened. American and Saudi Arabian officials believe that, considering the large volume of Chinese investment in the Iranian oil and gas sector, the West should put more efforts into taking China away from Iran. The U.S. is trying to replace Iran with Saudi Arabia, but these efforts haven’t been successful yet, and China is still considered a reliable business partner for Iran.