Iran’s relations with China and India - Simple economics but complicated politics?
To what extent can Iran’s relationship help it alleviate the pressure from the Trump administration on its economy? Will Beijing and New Delhi see Iran’s predicament as an exception or the first casualty in a world where the US has weaponised its position in the global economic system?
China and India are the giants of Asia, having grown in geopolitical and economic importance over the last couple of decades. In particular China has become more of a global political actor as its economic clout has grown. Iran is a country with relatively good relations with both China and India, but has a long running conflict with the United States (especially under president Trump) - which puts Beijing and New Delhi in an awkward position. As the EU is proving to be incapable of defending the nuclear agreement signed by the UN Security Council and Germany, with Iran in July 2015, Tehran is increasingly looking eastward for economic and political support.
In this first of a series of seminars, we investigated the economic relations of Iran-China-India and the interplay with each respective country’s international political positions.
Speakers:
Bijan Khajehpour, Economist and managing partner at Eurasian Nexus Partners, a Vienna-based international strategic consulting firm
Jacopo Scita, PhD Candidate in Government and International Affairs, Durham University
Meena Singh Roy, Research Fellow and Coordinator, West Asia Centre, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi, India
The seminar was moderated by Rouzbeh Parsi, Head of UI’s Middle East and North Africa Programme.