It may be about business for Iran, but it is all about geopolitics for China. Iran has been economically weakened by US-led sanctions and is desperate to attract foreign investment, whereas China is eager to expand its strategic influence in the Middle East. Why else would the announcement of dramatically increased Chinese investment be timed with ejecting India from a strategic project like the Chahbahar-Afghanistan railway? Iran must take heed from the experience of many other Asian and African countries: Chinese investment is a kiss of death, a stranglehold where poor countries have slid deeper into debt and surrendered their political and economic autonomy. In this case there must also be the hand of Pakistan which never wanted India to get close to Iran and Afghanistan. This turn of events will be regarded in India as opportunistic and treacherous on the part of Iran, especially as it comes at a time when China has launched a fresh wave of aggression on its border. Globally it will be seen as a sign of Iranian desperation, and reverse some of the sympathy that many nations especially in Europe and Asia felt for Iran when Trump arbitrarily revoked the nuclear deal. Iran risks acquiring an image as a lackey of Beijing in the same league as pariah state like Pakistan and North Korea, to it’s detriment. As for India, it must rue its reliance on state-owned firms to implement strategic projects: their incompetence gives a handy excuse for those who do not wish it well to act against it.
It may be about business for Iran, but it is all about geopolitics for China. Iran has been economically weakened by US-led sanctions and is desperate to attract foreign investment, whereas China is eager to expand its strategic influence in the Middle East. Why else would the announcement of dramatically increased Chinese investment be timed with ejecting India from a strategic project like the Chahbahar-Afghanistan railway? Iran must take heed from the experience of many other Asian and African countries: Chinese investment is a kiss of death, a stranglehold where poor countries have slid deeper into debt and surrendered their political and economic autonomy. In this case there must also be the hand of Pakistan which never wanted India to get close to Iran and Afghanistan. This turn of events will be regarded in India as opportunistic and treacherous on the part of Iran, especially as it comes at a time when China has launched a fresh wave of aggression on its border. Globally it will be seen as a sign of Iranian desperation, and reverse some of the sympathy that many nations especially in Europe and Asia felt for Iran when Trump arbitrarily revoked the nuclear deal. Iran risks acquiring an image as a lackey of Beijing in the same league as pariah state like Pakistan and North Korea, to it’s detriment. As for India, it must rue its reliance on state-owned firms to implement strategic projects: their incompetence gives a handy excuse for those who do not wish it well to act against it.