ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL NEWS

 *ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL NEWS*


*Iran-China 25-year cooperation plan*


A special report from BESA Center (the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies) points to major developments in Asia. Titled *"The Iran-China 25-Year Plan: A Preliminary Assessment"* (Ofira Seliktar and Farhad Rezaei, BesaCenter.org, July 21, 2020), it presents this analysis:


"On June 23, 2020, the Iranian government announced the Iran-China 25 Year Comprehensive Partnership ... It amounts to an unprecedented economic, military and technological collaboration between the two states. Relations between Beijing and Tehran ... have blossomed under Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is pushing China's ambitious *Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)*. According to China, the BRI aims to create a huge unified market in Asia, the Middle East and *Africa* through  massive investment in infrastructure, education and technology. Critics view the BRI as a thinly disguised effort to achieve Chinese domination over a large swath of the globe.


"Iran would serve as a regional hub for the BRI, giving China extraordinary leeway across a wide range of economic activity. This includes petrochemical production, renewable energy, civilian nuclear energy, high-speed railways, highways, subways, airports and maritime connections...


"A section of the draft agreement reveals an exceptional high level of military cooperation between the two countries. This includes, among other things, shared development of defense industries, intelligence sharing and joint military maneuvers. Earlier reports indicate that China and Iran have been working on a large arms deal timed to coincide with the ending of the UN Security Council arms embargo...


"The benefits of this arrangement to China are clear. Beijing would accomplish its strategic shift to the Indo-Pacific region. China has already built a string of logistical station ports along the Indian Ocean to Djibouti and the Suez Canal. Dominating Iran would give China a side presence in the Gulf ... Most of the world's oil transits through that passage...


"For the Iranians, who are operating under the severe pressure of American sanctions, the deal is a lifeline... But some Iranian critics ... believe the Tehran government has sold out Iran's sovereignty to the Chinese ... Moreover, China expects Iran to use its oil receipts in an 'optimal way' ... (and not) on the revolutionary export projects so beloved by the late Quds Force chief Qassem Soleimani ... It is not clear whether the Revolutionary Guards would oblige, however".


Meanwhile, Iran continues to pursue nuclear development, to the great concern of Israel and many other nations ("IAEA: Iran Further Raises Uranium Stockpiles 8 times Its Limit, Blocks Visits to Sites", Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, June 5, 2020).


Russia will evidently be another major player in this eastern coalition. Many of the eastern powers are currently working together in the *Shanghai Cooperation Organization* (SCO), already widely regarded as the "alliance of the East".


*Copyright 2021*

*#Born Veterinary Nigeria#*

*BVN Limited*

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