Since the United States began to reimpose sanctions aimed at damaging the Iranian economy, Iran, under the strategy to neutralize the sanctions imposed on the country, has tried to boost its economic power by expanding its ties with Asian countries and striving to become self-sufficient in key domains.
In this regard, Iran and China signed a landmark 25-year comprehensive strategic partnership agreement on March 27, 2021, in defiance of the US unilateral sanctions to strengthen the long-standing economic and political alliance.
The importance of the agreement between Iran and China was such that since the news was released, many media outlets around the world covered it. Some experts said that the Sino-Iranian relations undermine the US and increasingly mitigate the effectiveness of US sanctions against Iran.
In this regard, the acting director of the Future of Iran Initiative at the Atlantic Council's South Asia Center Barbara Slavin in an interview with Mehr News Agency commented on the effect that the deal can have on thwarting US maximum pressure policy towards Iran, saying, "It is obvious that trade with China has helped Iran survive sanctions."
Touching upon the necessity of diversifying economic and trade partners to have a more healthy and stronger economy, she said that Iran would be better off if it was more integrated into the international economy.
Slavin noted that returning to the JCPOA can help Iran diversify its partners, too.
Referring to the impact of the Iran-China deal on Iran’s oil and energy sector, Slavin said, "Iran would benefit from a more diverse set of customers and investors in its oil and gas sector. In particular, it would benefit from a return of European oil companies."
Slavin believes that the cooperation between Tehran and Beijing is "important but China alone cannot satisfy Iran’s needs."
Commenting on the impact of the Iran-China deal on strengthening Beijing's position to confront the Washington policy while many believe that one of the main US policies all throughout the world is to contain China as its main rival, Slavin said, "The US is not so much interested in ‘containing’ China as in persuading it to follow international norms and not crowd out the competition in an unfair or risky manner."
Interview by Zahra Mirzafarjouyan