China on Monday said that it was opposed to any breach of the Iran nuclear deal, opening up another possible avenue of friction with the United States once President-elect Donald Trump enters the White House.
"Maintaining that the deal is continued, comprehensive and its effective implementation is the responsibility and common interest of all parties, and should not be impacted by changes in the internal situation of each country," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said during a visit to Beijing by his Iranian counterpart, Javad Zarif.
Mr. Wang did not name any particular country, but his observations contradict comments made by Mr. Trump during the campaign trail. During the run-up to the elections, Mr. Trump had pledged to scrap the deal.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency quoted Mr. Zarif as saying that the Chinese and the Iranian positions on the nulcear deal were in sync. "The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is a multilateral agreement and all parties should respect it. Iran and China have the same stance on this," he observed.
"We will not let any country infringe the agreement unilaterally," he added. "But if they do, Iran has its own options."
Separately in a speech at Tehran University Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told his audience that “none of his [Mr. Trump’s] actions would affect us." He added: "Do you think the he can rip up the JCPOA? Do you think we and our nation will let him do that?"
Tensions between Iran and the United States have been spiralling following the U.S. Senate vote which extended the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) by another 10 years. The Chinese Foreign Ministry website also said that the two Ministers discussed greater cooperation on energy, trade and infrastructure under China's new Silk Road initiative.
Iran is a significant partner of China’s One Belt One Road (OBOR) connectivity initiative, which is underscored by the back-and-forth movement of cargo trains between the two countries. China has also established a rail link with Iran’s neighbour, Afghanistan, as a part of a larger OBOR railway network. The state-run flagship China Central Television (CCTV) is reporting that Mr. Zarif had arrived in Beijing with a large business delegation. The two top diplomats also held the first annual China-Iran Foreign Ministers’ Meeting — a follow-up of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Tehran in January. The Chinese President had then pledged to raise to volume of China-Iran trade to $600 billion within 10 years. Iran is also an applicant for a full membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a major geo-strategic initative pillared by Beijing and Moscow.
China’s ties with the Trump administration in-waiting have been jolted after the President-elect crossed a Beijing imposed red-line by holding a telephonic conversation with Tsai Ing-wen, the President of Taiwan. This was followed by a string a tweets that have evoked adverse comment by the Chinese State media.
On Tuesday, an op-ed posted on the website of People’s Daily — China’s official newspaper — noted that within days of receiving a phone call from Taiwan’s leader, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump wrote a two-part tweet aimed at China, “further upsetting the most important bilateral relationship for America”. The daily highlighted that in his tweet, “ (Mr.) Trump accused China of manipulating its currency and of preparing for conflict and war in the South China Sea. (Mr.) Trump also seemed to suggest that China needs U.S. permission to protect its own national interest.”
The newspaper warned that Washington could not and should not attempt to “ dictate the policy of another sovereign state”. “Sovereignty means that China, for example, is not always going to do what the U.S. wants. Furthermore, China will never bow to U.S. pressure.”
