What Should Iran Ask from China?
Part 3 (Strategic Expansion)
An Iranian minister visits China in January of 2022 to sign a 25-year economic plan between Iran and China. As he returns, there is an unsolved question in his mind: “What should we ask from China?”
Well, this article tries to answer that question.
In the previous part I tried to emphasize contributions that China could have on Iranian Renewable Energy. Here I expand how Iran could benefit from China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Strategic Expansion
The “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI) is an economic infrastructure project of more than 60 countries which develops two trade routes of “Silk Road Economic Belt” and “Maritime Silk Road”. The project is backed by the industrial strength of the Chinese economy and its investment potential. This plan could lead to China’s hegemony in East Asia (despite their pre-2019 foreign policy), and ultimately lead China to the top as a powerhouse in the global economy by overcoming Eurasian land and water trade routes. China has unveiled a $900 billion USD plan to invest in global economic infrastructure in order to expand globalization and market development. This is the largest investment ever made by a country for (peaceful ;)) economic expansion.
In the field of railways, according to the original design of the Silk Road, the railway was to run from China to Central Asia, through Iran, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and from there to Russia or Turkey, and finally end in Europe. But in December 2020, the first shipment of Turkish train routing from Europe to Asia reached the Chinese city of Xi’an, avoiding sanctioned Iran, by passing through Georgia, Azerbaijan, the Caspian Sea (by ship) and Kazakhstan.
BRI is not just a simple ideology, rather a strategic roadmap. China’s High Speed Rail (HSR) is the world’s longest high-speed network (in 2021) and the most widely used railway with a total length of 40K Km. And it is not going to stop there with plans in place for expansion. Chinese train manufacturers and railway builders have signed multiple agreements to build HSRs in Turkey (Ankara to Istanbul), Venezuela, Argentina and Indonesia. And are now bidding for HSR projects in the United States, Russia, Saudi Arabia (Mecca to Medina), Brazil (São Paulo to Rio de Janeiro) and Myanmar.
Suggestion
The main Iranian national railway system that was built during WWII to support the Allies against the Nazis connects Caspian Sea to the Persian Gulf, currently suppling many capitals. In 1972, the Iranian railway was connected to the European railway through Turkey. This important link significantly strengthens trade and tourism and decreases the need for ships and airplanes along the way. Iran’s railway has a significant position allowing it to become an efficient and low-cost transit route for the countries of the region.
Iran’s strategic geographical location and alignment of its interests with the Chinese government provide a unique opportunity for this cooperation. This plan creates a key alternative value to the BRI beside war-afflicted Russia by making Iran an integral passage that cannot be easily substituted. Remember, Obama’s Trans-Pacific Plan (TPP) was set out to compete with China’s BRI. Therefore, strengthening the transportation line is key for Iran to meet the needs of neighbors and regional countries.
This Iranian railway plan or as I’d like to call it “Project Funnel” can be welcomed as a line of transportation between the countries of the Caucasus and Eurasia (potentially including Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan) to the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman. The goal for Iran here is to reach the southern countries of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman in the fastest and most economical way (using high-speed train technology) which can be made possible by Chinese investment.
