21 February 2010 : IRNA
London, Feb 21, IRNA - Chinese diplomacy is facing a “difficult decision” over Iran’s nuclear programme, a researcher of Chinese Foreign and Security Policy at the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) says.
Sarah Raine told IRNA that although Beijing has been happy to keep Iran’s nuclear issue off the top table of US-China relations, it is being influenced by Washington and Europe to bring the spotlight on Iran’s nuclear programme.
“...Encouraged by Washington, the EU3, and the IAEA, the spotlight on Iran’s nuclear ambitions is now shining stronger for Beijing. And none of the options available to Beijing look comfortable. This is a case of damage limitation.”
She added that she expected Beijing to” work hard to keep a new round of targeted UN sanctions to a minimum, making sure to protect its key interests in Iran,..., or at least abstaining on them.”
Raine said Beijing’s actions on Iran will “certainly be influenced by its extensive business interests” as well as its awareness of “increased Iranian influence” in the Middle East.
“This is inevitable and understandable; any power would do likewise. But although US-China relations are certainly going through a difficult time, I don’t see Iran as part of the ‘tit for tat’ exchanges of frustration that we’re witnessing in, for example, trade policies,” she said, adding that both powers have fundamental interests on the line with regard to Iran.
Raine added that China doesn’t like “being told what to do by anyone; nor does it like being in the spotlight as the key ‘swing vote’”.
“The US may make a show of lobbying the Saudis to provide for boosted oil supplies to China, but China have their own channels to the Saudis, and rile even at the inference that they need US help in contingency planning in this regard. “
Referring to such anti-Iran measures by Americans in the Persian Gulf, Raine said such “gestures are simply games designed to contain China’s room for dispute”.
“Deng Xiaoping’s famous foreign policy axiom that China should ‘adopt a low profile’ is increasingly unsustainable for a China that is ever more influential in global affairs. To the government in Beijing, Iran is both a demonstration and a reminder of this new reality.”
Farsi Version
