AN OVERVIEW OF CHINA-IRAN RELATIONS AND ITS IMPACT ON CENTRAL ASIA

Yıl 2022, Cilt: 6 Sayı: 1, 103 - 114, 30.06.2022

Yavuz Çelik

Öz

On March 27, 2021, Iran and China signed a 25-year strategic cooperation agreement that addresses economic partnership. Since the Deng Xiaoping era in 1978, China’s rapid economic growth has continuously elevated its position of this country in the international system. Today China is not limited in its borders, and its growing influence has a stake in regional and international issues. Iran officially recognized China in 1967, and diplomatic ties have begun, and it mainly developed positively. The scope of the study will be since 1991 when the Soviet Union collapsed and altered the nature of the international system and in the context of China- Iran relations, the focus will be on Central Asia, where the two countries have had an impact. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, China has gained a significant position in the newly independent Central Asia States, making China a significant player in the region. On the other hand, Iran has a strategic location in the Persian Gulf, and its placement at the crossroads of the Middle East, Central Asia, and South Asia has long made it a target for regional and global actors desiring control over a critical section of the Eurasian landmass. This study also analyzes the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) that significantly affect China-Iran relations.

Anahtar Kelimeler

China, Iran, The SCO, The BRI, Central Asia

Kaynakça

• Blank, Stephen. 2008. “The Strategic Importance of Central Asia: An American View.” The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters 38(1): 73–87.
• Cooley, Alexander A., and John Heathershaw. 2017. Dictators Without Borders: Power and Money in Central Asia. Yale University Press.
• Demir, İdris. 2009. “Iran in Central Asia: 1990-2000.” Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi (19): 91–102.
• Eurasianet. 2017. “Iran To Become Essential Hub In China’s Belt And Road Initiative.” Eurasianet. https://oilprice.com/Geopolitics/International/Iran-To-Become-Essential-Hub-In-Chinas-Belt-And-Road-Initiative.html (December 23, 2021).
• Farchy, Jacky, James Kynge, Chris Campbell, and David Blood. 2016. “The New Trade Routes: Silk Road Corridor, One Belt, One Road, A Ribbon of Road, Rail and Energy Projects to Help Increase Trade.” Financial Times. https://ig.ft.com/sites/special-reports/one-belt-one-road/ (December 23, 2021).
• Fassihi, Farnaz, and Steven Lee Myers. 2020. “China and Iran Near Trade and Military Partnership.” The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/11/world/asia/china-iran-trade-military-deal.html?auth=link-dismiss-google1tap (December 27, 2021).
• “Hu Jintao Attends the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit and Delivers an Important Speech.” 2005. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China. https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/topics_665678/hzxcfels_665834/t202787.shtml.
• Ke, Yin. 2019. “Interview: Iran-China Cooperation under BRI Mutually Beneficial -- Iranian Business Leader.” Xinhua. http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2021-06/12/c_1310004535.htm (December 28, 2021).
• Keohane, Robert O. 1988. “International Institutions: Two Approaches.” International Studies Quarterly 32(4): 379–96.
• Kurbanov, Sabir. 2018. “The Importance of Anticorruption, Trade, and Investment Climate Reforms in Central Asia in the BRI Context.” In China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Its Impact in Central Asia, ed. Marlene Laruelle. Washington, D.C.: the George Washington University: Central Asia Program, 86–97.
• Lakatos, Artur, and András Kosztur. 2017. “Global Politics, Regional Competition: Great Power Politics in Central Asia.” Hiperboreea Journal 4(1): 61–76.
• Leverett, Flynt, and Hillary Mann Leverett. 2013. Going to Tehran: Why the United States Must Come to Terms with the Islamic Republic of Iran. New York: Metropolitan Book Henry Holt and Company.
• Osiewicz, Przemysław. 2018. “The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI): Implications for Iran-China Relations.” Przegląd Strategiczny VIII(11): 221–32.
• Peyrouse, Sebastien. 2017. “The Evolution of Russia’s Views on the Belt and Road Initiative.” Asia Policy (24): 96–102.
• Schiek, Sebastian. 2017. “Movement on the Silk Road: China’s" Belt and Road" Initiative as an Incentive for Intergovernmental Cooperation and Reforms at Central Asia’s Borders.” Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik RP12: 1–33.
• Shariatinia, Mohsen. 2011. “Iran-China Relations: An Overview of Critical Factors.” Iranian Review of Foreign Affairs 1(4): 57–85.
• Shuja, Sharif. 2005. “China, Iran and Central Asia: The Dawning of a New Partnership.” Contemporary Review 1676: 145–51.
• South China Morning Post. 2017. “China Pumps Billions into Iranian Economy as Western Firms Hold Off.” South China Morning Post. http://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2122435/china- pumps-billions-iranian-economy-western-firms-hold (March 21, 2018).
• Strachota, Krzysztof, and Aleksandra Jarosiewicz. 2013. China vs. Central Asia The Achievements of the Past Two Decades. Warsaw: OSW Centre for Eastern Studies. https://www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacje/osw-studies/2013-11-04/china-vs-central-asia-achievements-past-two-decades (April 25, 2021).
• Tarock, Adam. 1997. “Iran’s Policy in Central Asia.” Central Asian Survey 16(2): 185–200.
• Tiezzi, Shannon. 2021. “What’s in the China-Iran Strategic Cooperation Agreement?” The Diplomat. https://thediplomat.com/2021/03/whats-in-the-china-iran-strategic-cooperation-agreement/ (December 24, 2021).
• Wu, Hsiu-Ling, and Chien-Hsun Chen. 2004. “The Prospects for Regional Economic Integration between China and the Five Central Asian Countries.” Europe-Asia Studies 56(7): 1059–80.
• Yuldasheva, Guli. 2014. “Iranian-Chinese Relationship in the Central-Asian Policy Context.” Latvian Institute of International Affairs. https://www.lai.lv/viedokli/iranian-chinese-relationship-in-the-central-asian-policy-context-400 (December 23, 2021).
• ———. 2017. The Role of Iran and the United States of America in Geopolitics of Central Asia. eds. Andris Sprūds and Diāna Potjomkina. http://liia.lv/en/publications/the-role-of-iran-and-the-united-states-of-america-in-geopolitics-of-central-asia-619 (April 25, 2021).
• Zogg, Benno. 2020. “On the Belt, on the Road: China’s Pivot to Eurasia.” In Strategic Trends, eds. Michael Haas and Oliver Thränert. Zurich: Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich, 81-103. https://css.ethz.ch/en/publications/strategic-trends/details.html?id=%2Fo%2Fn%2Ft%2Fh%2Fon_the_belt_on_the_road_chinas_pivot_to_ (September 9, 2021).