Which Side Will China Choose?

Post by Tim Armstrong, Great Decisions student

With tensions building between the US and Iran, the question of which side China will take becomes more and more relevant. On one side, Iran claims ties between Tehran and Beijing has increased recently due to policies of the US. Saeed Jalili, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Counsel, claims that "both nations have agreed on the need to fight against unilateralism." He then talked about how both countries are opposed to powers that use their military and economic pressure to control other countries.

On the other side, President Obama is confident that China will support the US after talking with Chinese President Hu Jintao about the "importance of working together" on Iran. This seems like a sudden shift in China's policies since they have been pretty resistant to previous calls for additional sanctions, stating that they prefer diplomacy. This cooperation between the two powers shows a willingness to move beyond issues such as Obama's meeting with the Dalai Lama and US arms sales to Taiwan.

We will see how China's stance changes when they are forced to talk with action instead of words. China will only be able to play both sides of the coin for so long. The more time China takes to choose a side the closer Iran gets to developing nuclear warheads and potentially upsetting the balance in the middle east.

More information here and here.