Iran’s Raisi and Xi Jinping break bread in Beijing

Iran’s Raisi and Xi Jinping break bread in Beijing


Briefly: On Tuesday (Valentine’s Day no less), Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. They pledged to deepen their ties after a period of stagnation, and discussed issues like investment, oil, and the Iran nuclear deal. 

China and Iran have a nuanced friendship. On the one hand, presenting a united front and pushing back against the US encourages a more multipolar world order (aka less US-dominant), while providing both countries with material advantages (China is Iran’s biggest oil client).

On the other hand, China has been cosying up to Saudi Arabia (Iran’s main regional rival) and that has put Iran on edge. Despite Beijing’s pledges to work on their ‘comprehensive strategic partnership’, Tehran hasn’t exactly become a hub for Chinese investment. Raisi even bemoaned bilateral relations having “seriously fallen behind”.

President Xi is still talking a big game: “No matter how the international and regional situation changes, China will unswervingly develop friendly co-operation with Iran”.

Intrigue’s take: Iran needs friends and customers, possibly one and the same, and it needs them urgently. Unfortunately for Iranians, the country’s economic outlook is weaker than KFC’s commitment to nutrition. And sanctions relief is nowhere on the horizon. Add to the mix the growing prospect of a China-Saudi friendship and you’ll understand why Raisi jumped on the first plane to Beijing.

Also worth noting:

Latest Author Articles
Intrigue’s 2024 Geopolitical Bingo Card

Before we get back into the swing of things next week, allow us to present the Intrigue 2024 Geopolitical Bingo Card. Basically, we’ve put together 24 predictions for the coming year – some serious, others not.

5 January, 2024
Intrigue’s 2023 in Review

1. Superpower relations The curious case of the Chinese spy balloon It’s not like US-China relations were good before Billings, Montana native Chase Doak spotted a 200-foot-tall object drifting in the sky one sunny February morning… but his discovery certainly made them worse. China first denied it was a balloon meant for spying but somewhat undermined those […]

17 December, 2023
A COP dark side?

We’ve worked at plenty of global summits, including in our former lives as diplomats. They’re exhilarating, frustrating, surreal, and essential parts of how our world works. But they have a dark side, too. Trusted friends have passed us some information on one such dark side now playing out in the margins of the COP28 climate talks in Dubai: sex trafficking.

8 December, 2023
The run-up to COP… 31?

As the COP28 climate talks kick off in Dubai later this month, there are two intriguing tussles playing out for the right to run COP31 in 2026.

17 November, 2023