China playing long game over Iranian nuclear worries

• Source: Global Times
• [00:32 January 15 2010]
• Comments

By Andrei Ibanov

Early last week, Zhang Yesui, China's Ambassador to the UN, used words of basic diplomacy to sum up Beijing's stance on the latest tensions in the Persian Gulf. "The Iranian nuclear issue," he said, requires "some time and patience."

China, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council, will, along with the US, Russia, Britain, France, and Germany, meet later this month to discuss Iran's nuclear program.

Western nations accuse the Islamic Republic of developing nuclear weapons; Tehran insists the projects are for civilian energy related purposes.

Zhang's comments come less than a week after Iran missed an end-of-year deadline set by Washington to respond to offers of talks regarding its uranium enrichment program. It also comes as Chinese and Russian diplomats are resisting efforts for a fourth round of sanctions, described by US officials as "crippling."

But behind the scenes, this represents a broader, conspicuous trend as well: one where China's superpower status allows it a more direct role in advancing its national interests faster than ever.

More significantly, it is doing so via its leadership of the the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), an intergovernmental mutual-security organization that includes Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, and of which Iran is an observer member and an applicant.

As a result of this alliance, China and Russia have also worked hard to water down the sanctions already in place behind the scenes. Given their pledges of mutual support, along with those of their neighbors, there is much to suggest these efforts will continue.

In the short term, China needs good relations with Iran, given the fact that it boasts the world's second-largest reserves of oil and natural gas. Iran is also one of the few places in the Gulf from where upstream resources can be tapped directly.

Moreover, whereas Washington seeks a security strategy, China seeks an energy security strategy. Given some disastrous blunders in the region recently, China has its reasons to be wary of provocations by the US and Israel.