Gordon G. Chang
Gatestone Institute, Aug. 14, 2024
“China, until the killing of Haniyeh, seemingly was driving events in the Middle East, but it now looks as if Beijing’s green light for an Iranian attack on Israel is an attempt to stop an unfavorable trend.”
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi on August 11 told Iran’s acting foreign minister that Beijing supports the Islamic Republic defending its “sovereignty, security, and national dignity.” Wang said that killing Hamas’s Ismail Haniyeh, the terrorist group’s political leader, in Tehran violated Iran’s sovereignty and threatened regional stability.
As countries around the world pressure Iran not to strike Israel — Tehran blames the Jewish state for the bomb that killed Haniyeh on July 31 — China was, in effect, publicly goading Iran to act.
Why would the Chinese foreign minister do that? Perhaps because Beijing believes that its proxy, Iran, is losing a war and has to act fast.
Hamas is a proxy of Iran. Iran’s regime believes that it is no one’s proxy, but the Chinese seem to think that Iran is indeed theirs. Whether Iran is China’s claw or not, Tehran could not have launched the October 7 war without the direct and indirect support of the Chinese state.
First, there is Beijing’s direct economic lifeline to the ailing Iranian economy. Last year, when Iran’s crude oil exports reached a five-year high, China took about 90% of the volume, according to Kpler, a European research firm. It appears that strong Chinese demand was the reason for the increase in Iranian production.
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