Iran and China have drafted a broad economic and security partnership that will make possible billions of dollars of Chinese investments in energy and other economic areas, which would undercut the Trump Administration’s attempt to isolate Iran. Such a deal was first proposed in 2016, when President Xi Jinping met his counterpart, President Hassan Rouhani, Farnaz Fassihi and Steven Lee Myers reported July 11 in the New York Times.
An 18-page agreement details what will be a “vastly expanded” Chinese participation in banking, telecommunications, ports, railroads, and dozens of other projects, in exchange for which China would receive a regular, heavily-discounted supply of Iranian oil over the next 25 years. China imports about 75% of its oil, and is the world’s largest oil importer.
Military cooperation will increase between China and Iran, including training, exercises, weapons development, and intelligence sharing, according to the pending agreement labeled “final version” and dated June 2020. China has not disclosed any terms of the agreement, which has not yet been submitted to Iran’s Parliament, according to the Times.
