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China's Iranian Gambit

(Foreign Policy) Michael Singh and Jacqueline Newmyer Deal - For three decades, U.S. diplomats have failed to secure real Chinese cooperation in their efforts to prevent Iran from going nuclear. According to the Washington Post, a senior U.S. official handed over to his Chinese counterparts in October 2010 a "significant list" of Chinese firms thought to be aiding Iranian proliferation in violation of UN sanctions. Increasing Chinese trade with Iran - projected to reach $40 billion in 2011, up from $30 billion last year - eases the pressure on Tehran and provides the Iranian regime with revenue, expertise, and other resources. China provided critical support to the development of Iran's nuclear program during the 1980s and 1990s and emerged in the 1980s as one of Iran's principal arms suppliers, with transfers including cruise missile and ballistic-missile capabilities. Earlier this year, China moved to block the release of a UN report that described suspected Chinese involvement in the transfer to Iran of aluminum powder used as a solid propellant for nuclear-capable ballistic missiles. Last week, China joined Russia in pressing the IAEA not to release damning information on Iranian military nuclear research. And last year, media sources covered the sale by Chinese firms of high-quality carbon fibers that would help Iran build better centrifuges. China's strategic thinking is laid out clearly in Chinese-language publications aimed at Beijing's political and military elites. For example, defense analyst Maj. Gen. Zhang Shiping, who is often described in the Chinese press as a "researcher" within China's Academy of Military Sciences, argued in China's Sea Power that Iran was a potentially desirable location for a Chinese military base in the Middle East.
2011-11-02 00:00:00
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