WANA (May 03) – Amid intensifying geopolitical rivalries and rising costs along traditional global trade routes, Iran is steadily emerging as a key junction in China’s economic strategy. This route begins in Central Asia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, and passes through Iranian territory—linking China to the Persian Gulf and the world’s energy hubs via Iran’s southern ports.

 

But this is more than just a transit corridor. It is part of a broader pattern in Tehran-Beijing relations. In recent years, economic cooperation between the two countries has expanded at an unprecedented scale—across sectors such as energy, infrastructure, technology, and trade. Rather than slowing this trend, Western sanctions have only deepened it. China is now Iran’s largest trading partner and its main buyer of oil and petrochemical products. In return, a large share of Iran’s machinery, electronics, and industrial goods are imported from China.

 

The peak of this growing partnership came with the signing of a 25-year strategic cooperation agreement in 2021, under which Beijing committed to investing $400 billion in Iranian infrastructure projects. This figure not only reflects China’s commitment to anchoring Iran in its Belt and Road Initiative, but also reveals a broader strategic shift: China no longer wants to rely solely on the Malacca Strait and the contested waters of Southeast Asia for its energy supply routes.

 

Back in 2016, China had already signaled its interest in Iran’s southern ports through a series of bilateral agreements—a priority that was recently reaffirmed by the Chinese ambassador to Tehran. In an official article, he named Hormozgan province as the focal point of this cooperation and spoke of “new opportunities in economic and trade engagement” between the two nations.

 

Against this backdrop, Iran now has a historic opportunity to pursue a win-win strategy by prioritizing the development of its port, road, and rail infrastructure—a move that not only brings immediate economic benefits but could also solidify Iran’s geopolitical standing in future regional and global dynamics.