Achilles’ heel: self-contradictions in the BRI's Middle East agendas aggravate limitations of the Iran-China partnership

Abstract

Exploring both the enhancement of bilateral strategic partnership and diplomatic tensions between China and Iran, this article argues that in the Xi Jinping era Iran has unique strategic value for China in terms of Chinese global-level strategy; but the China-Iran relationship is increasingly facing severe restraints as China, through the BRI, deepens its engagement in the region. China’s global-level strategy and regional-level political agenda in the Middle East are a mismatch that has caused severe tensions in China-Iran bilateral relations since 2022 and deeply harmed Iran’s strategic trust toward China. This mismatch is a result of the decoupling process between political and economic aspects of the BRI, and it is deeply rooted in the inherent self-contradiction of the BRI since the Chinese government has never clearly defined the nature of the BRI nor decided whether strategic agendas or economic revenues are the priority.