Convergence and divergence in Iran-China relations with an emphasis on the Persian Gulf region

Adinehvand, Ahmad; Vosoughi, Saeed; Ebrahimi, Shahrooz

Convergence and divergence in Iran-China relations with an emphasis on the Persian Gulf region

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Department of Political Science, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Isfahan University, Isfahan City, Iran

² Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Isfahan University, Isfahan, Iran

³ دانشیار گروه علوم سیاسی،دانشکده اقتصاد و علوم اداری،دانشگاه اصفهان، شهر اصفهان،ایران

Abstract

The economic growth of China in the last few decades and the emergence of this power in the international scene has caused this country to focus on the Persian Gulf region in order to access numerous sources of energy, oil and gas, and to try to improve its relations. strengthen with the countries of this region. Meanwhile, the Islamic Republic of Iran as a regional power with a special geopolitical and geostrategic position and having rich energy resources is of great importance in Chinese diplomacy. Despite this, the relations between these two countries have not always had a constant trend and many variables have played a role in shaping it. The main question of the current article is: why despite the deep convergence between the policies of China and Iran, there are also divergences between these two countries in relation to the Persian Gulf? The hypothesis that is raised following the mentioned question is that China's effort in the Persian Gulf to establish a soft balance through the strategic cover of the United States and also the desire of this country to improve relations with the countries of this region in order to diversify its needs to Energy has caused China to adopt a cautious policy towards Iran, which is in tension with the West and the international system, as well as the countries of the region. According to the findings of the research, this cautious policy has led to the divergence between China and Iran.

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