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Iran is expected to be one of the main beneficiaries of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). China and Iran had a track record of cooperation long before the announcement of BRI, developing a highly asymmetric Great Power-Middle Power partnership over the course of three decades. This article asks whether BRI will enable China and Iran to transcend the limitations faced by most Great Power-Middle Power relationships on the basis of Iran's enhanced strategic economic and geographic value. It is argued that while BRI could benefit from stronger China–Iran ties, Iran's international posturing has proven a significant hindrance to China, highlighting that entrenched patterns of engagement in Great Power-Middle Power relations are not easily shifted, even in the face of immense economic incentives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Is it possible for authoritarian states such as China, Russia, and Iran to combine the soft power narratives directed primarily towards an international audience with the narratives directed primarily towards a domestic audience that are aimed at maintaining regime security? To investigate this question, this article analyses the 2015 military parade in Beijing, using this case to highlight and discuss the constraints on Chinese leaders' efforts to project soft power. The key finding is that soft power will continue to be the weak link in China's pursuit of a great power position and status as long as what continues to count as "Chinese" is defined in opposition to hostile "others" and the humiliation narrative continues to function as the central identity marker in the party-led construction of national identity (the "us"). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iran-China relations have strengthened over the past decades. From an economic point of view, Iran has been an attractive destination for the Chinese businesses that are in search of new markets to expand the scope of their economic activities through trade, investment, and partnership. China has at the same time offered Iran a valuable alternative to the western economies, which gradually (and partly due to the economic sanctions imposed on Iran) decreased their level of engagement with Iran. Moreover, the relationships between China and Iran have expanded gradually to military and security cooperation. This paper will examine the development of various aspects of Sino-Iranian relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In view of the recent expansion of Indo-Persian studies, the neglect of the Sino-Persian nexus is a missed opportunity to place Iranian history on a larger Asian stage. While Iranian contact with China has continued episodically from antiquity to modernity, scholars have so far focused almost exclusively on the pre-modern phases of exchange. As a contribution to developing the field of Sino-Persian studies, this article situates two twentieth century Iranian travelers to China against the changing background of Chinese–Iranian exchange from the medieval to modern period. In so doing, it demonstrates the infrastructural and conceptual apparatus that enabled the modern Iranian encounter with China while asking how, if at all, twentieth century intellectuals were able to draw on a longer history of interaction to find meanings for Sino-Persian exchange. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In contemporary U.S. foreign policy both China and Iran is the main focus of attention. China with each passing day is increasing its influence economically, militarily, and technologically as a global power not only in the South Asian region but in the Middle Eastern as well. Even with carrying the burden of 20 percent of global/world population on its vast geographical area with fewer amounts of resources in comparison to its population. While Iran on the other hand has become a critical problem for the United States in its Middle East Foreign policy, particularly after the invasion of United States of America of Afghanistan and Iraq in the years of 2001 and 2003. That cost huge economic burden on the United States economy and resulted as the cause of anger against the U.S, among its own citizens and in Muslim world, particularly after the failure of United States to find out the Mass Destruction Weapons in Iraq. That invasion also helped Iran to enjoy a predominant position in the changed power structure of the Middle Eastern region. To resolve the Iran problem United States talked about the option of military action but the experience and result of military actions in Afghanistan and Iraq did not permit United States to take that measure. So America confined itself to the option of imposing the economic sanctions on Iran with rapidly increasing their intensity in order to isolate Iran and secondly the option of changing the regime in order to force the Iran to abandon its Nuclear Programme which proved fruitless until now. No doubt Iran faced many problems due to their antagonising relations with U.S. but it is China which played a crucial role by extending helping hand in the critical situations towards Iran, so became a source of strength for Iran. It is in this sense that their mutual growing relations are increasingly becoming a challenge for U.S hegemony in contemporary world politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interaction of states influenced by their bilateral ties and the multilateral organizations in the form of triangles presents an opportunity to understand some interesting dynamics of the current international politics. This interaction is often the result of the similar (if not a common) strategic culture and geopolitical realities. This study on Pakistan-Iran-China ties is an attempt to underscore the potentials of the formation of this triangle and its ramifications for international politics. The subject is elucidated in the context of the impending drawdown of US and NATO from Afghanistan, the role of Shanghai cooperation organization (SCO) in the region with its impact on Pakistan-Iran-China relations, and the place of Pakistan and Iran in the Beijing's "String of Pearls" strategy. In this triangle Pakistan's longstanding rivalry with India and Iran's protracted antagonism against US are the significant factors that bring Pakistan and Iran closer to Beijing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In its foreign policy towards the Iranian nuclear programme, China is unwilling to join the partially harsh anti-Iran rhetoric of the US and the EU3. China has averted the imposition of sanctions and only abstained from its veto power as a permanent UNSC member after considerable diplomatic persuasion by 'the West'. Beijing was cautious not to spoil its image as a 'responsible Great Power', walking a diplomatic tightrope in balancing a pragmatic-commercial approach to business in Iran and mollifying Western security concerns related to the Iranian nuclear programme, following the tradition of Deng Xiaoping's doctrine of 'maintaining a low profile'. Increasingly, however, China is conveying a more assertive foreign policy and is no longer hiding its strategic interests. This paper argues that with the EU3 being at the forefront of nuclear diplomacy with Iran, disagreements with China over the EU's recent sanctions policy against Iran can, but need not, be a step in the direction of EU-China strategic alienation in the search for long-term solutions to the Iranian nuclear stalemate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) anti-terrorism drone aircraft program in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Yemen, which was authorized by Congress' passage of the Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) in 2001 and expanded by U.S. President Barack Obama. The author is critical of further expansion of the program, arguing that the deployment of drones and the subsequent deaths of innocent civilians have undermined amicable relations between the U.S. and Pakistani governments. It is also argued that the CIA's program could lead to the development of unwanted drone programs in countries such as China and Iran. The author proposes increasing the program's transparency by establishing a government review agency.

This article analyses, the complex relationship between Tehran, Beijing and Washington on the Iranian nuclear issue. Indeed, China's policy towards Iran has often been described as ambiguous, in supporting Washington, on the one hand, while protecting Tehran, on the other hand. In this article, we argue that, in fact, Beijing policy vis-a-vis Tehran depends on the state of its relationships with Washington. Indeed, a closer analysis shows that China is using Iran as a bargaining chip with the United States on, among others, two key security issues, i.e., Taiwan and the oil supply. The guarantee of a secured oil supply from the Middle-East in addition to a comprehensive policy of the US with regard to Chinese security interests in Taiwan as well as the use of smart sanctions against Tehran, which would thus take into account, to a certain extent, Beijing economic interests in Iran, are, indeed, the guarantee of Beijing's support to the US policy towards Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article compares China's foreign policy towards Iran and North Korea in regards to these nations' nuclear programs. More specifically, the author examines the ways in which the Chinese government's political and economic relations with Iran and North Korea have influenced its foreign policy concerning regional nuclear security. The article first situates China's foreign nuclear policy within the wider framework of international relations theory. Emphasis is given to China's and other superpowers' use of multilateral diplomatic negotiations in regards to Iran's and North Korea's nuclear activities. The author distinguishes between North Korea's efforts to create nuclear weapons and Iran's alleged attempts to utilize nuclear power to generate electricity.

The article discusses the foreign policy of China towards Iran, emphasizing China's varying stances toward the proliferation of nuclear arms and technology in Iran. The author also emphasizes the importance of China's relations with the U.S. in forming its stance on this issue. Emphasis is given to China's attitude towards the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). China's relationship with the United Nations (UN) security council is detailed. The importance of Iran's oil and gas resources in its relationship with China is analyzed.

This article examines contemporary China-Iran relations, focusing on the economic and strategic ties that have helped solidify the relationship since 1979. We begin with an overview of the arms and technology transfers that mark the early years of the relationship, analyzing the benefits each side gained from these transactions. In addition to discussing the short-term financial benefits behind forging stronger ties, we examine how the regional ascent of both states has also presented several long term factors that helped motivate their cooperation. These developments shed light on the important role the U.S. has played, both in terms of where it has tried to intervene and what success it has had influencing the Sino-Iranian relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study describing the impact of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on China. SCO's importance is manifested on the increased trust between China and its close neighbors such as Iran and Uzbekistan, on the framework for combating terrorism, extremism, and other cross-border criminal force, and on the country's economic development. The SCO functioned as a tool to develop models for neighborhood security, state-to-state relationships, regional cooperation, and the transformation of Chinese diplomacy.

The article presents an analysis into the foreign economic relations between Iran and China, particularly that based around the petroleum industry. The increasing trends of friendly relations since the late 20th century between the nations are cited, despite strong ideological differences. Questions are raised regarding the extent of influence that petroleum supply and demand holds on foreign political relationships in view of other discouraging factors. Additional mention is given regarding the interactions of each nation to the United States and how they may interact within the two nations' interrelations.