March 12, 2026

Neither Shah nor Mullah?

Cyrus Salimi-Asl

"China sees Iran as an important, but not central, partner. For Beijing, Tehran is primarily valuable as a source of oil and as a transit country for certain routes of the Belt and Road Initiative, but it plays a secondary role compared with the Gulf monarchies. Economically, China has much deeper ties with the southern Gulf coast than with Iran; for Beijing, the priority lies in the security of the Strait of Hormuz and the stability of trade flows through Dubai, Doha, and other regional hubs."

Théo Nencini, ChinaMed Research Fellow, was quoted by Cyrus Salimi-Asl in a Neues Deutschland article (German-language source) discussing the future prospects for Iran after the war against Israel and the USA.

Read the full article here.

With the support of

This project is realized with the support of the Unit for Analysis, Policy Planning and Historical Documentation - Directorate General for Political Affairs and International Security of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, in accordance with Article 23 ‒ bis of the Decree of the President of the Italian Republic 18/1967.
The views expressed are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views ofthe Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

Published with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation pursuant to art. 23-bis of Presidential Decree 18/1967. The views expressed in this publication are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

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