China in the current international situation

The sharp deterioration of the situation in the Indo-Pacific once again challenges the role of leading international actors, among which China holds a key place.

Reaction to aggression against Iran and the Pakistan-Afghanistan conflict

This is particularly relevant to the Iranian conflict. Iran is one of the few countries in the Middle East with which Beijing has been actively developing relations in recent years. Washington’s goal of regime change in Iran would, with high probability, lead to a radical change in the foreign policy course of the country, which is strategically important for China. It seems that Washington is not limiting the global confrontation with China to the Western Hemisphere as outlined in the 2025 National Security Strategy. However, the pro-Israel lobby’s influence in the American establishment, whose interests are increasingly less correlated with the national priorities of the USA, is also evident.

Although the Pakistan-Afghanistan conflict has “local” roots, it also objectively affects Chinese interests. Most importantly, several branches of the Chinese global Belt and Road Initiative pass through this South Asian subregion, the key one being the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. The bombing of a Shi’a mosque in the Pakistani capital in early February could confirm the connection between the two conflicts, given that previously mosques have become targets of unrest in Shi’a Iran.

China’s reaction to these conflicts was predictable; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a sharp, negative statement regarding the aggression against Iran and........

© New Eastern Outlook