Ebrahim Raisi, the president of Iran, ended a three day visit to China on the 16th. This visit, which was the first from an Iranian president in decades, was described by the parties as “fruitful” and saw Chinese President Xi Jinping call for the ending of economic sanctions on Iran. China also stated that it “firmly opposes interference by external forces in Iran’s internal affairs and undermining Iran’s security and stability.” The US and other world powers have placed sanctions on Iran since 2018, because of Iran’s ongoing nuclear program. In 2015 Iran agreed to slow down its nuclear program in return for the lifting of economic sanctions, but former US President Trump pulled out of this agreement in 2018 and negotiations have since stalled.
China has shown great interest in the Middle East in recent years; Their only foreign military base is in the Red Sea nation of Djibouti. China is almost entirely an export based economy and the Middle East offers two major benefits to their geostrategy because of this. Firstly, the Suez Canal is one of the most important international shipping lanes in the world as it allows ships to not have to travel around Africa by the south but instead by cutting through the Red Sea. If China were to have military and/or economic control over this area it would allow them to insure their future ability to use this passage for shipping to Europe, greatly strengthening their String of Pearls initiative. Also, shipping requires energy and China is extremely dependent on foreign nations for its energy because it has very little of its own reserves. China is likely attempting to be friendly with nations such as Iran and other Middle Eastern nations to gain access to their oil reserves.