Iran and China are boosting the New Silk Roads.

By Pepe Escobar, for the Asia Times

Translation by Patricia Zimbres, for 247

Two of the biggest "strategic threats" to the United States are getting closer and closer within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative – the main economic integration project uniting the whole of Eurasia. The Deep State isn't going to like this very much.

The spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Mousavi, labeled it as "liars" a series of rumors about the "transparent roadmap" incorporated into the Iran-China strategic partnership.

This information was supplemented by President Rouhani's chief of staff, Mahmoud Vezi, who stated "A destructive propaganda campaign was initiated outside of Iran and directed against the expansion of Iran's relations with its neighbors, and especially with China and Russia."

Vezi added: "This roadmap, which defines a path for expanding relations between governments and the private sector, has been and will continue to be signed by many countries."

To a large extent, both Mousavi and Vezi were referring to a matter It was sensationalist, adding nothing new about the strategic partnership, but, as expected, it hinted at a serious red flag regarding the military alliance.

The Iran-China strategic partnership was officially established in 2016, when President Xi visited Tehran. These These are the guidelines. 

Two articles out of the twenty listed in the agreement are of particular relevance. 

Item 7 defines the scope of the partnership within the framework of Eurasian integration as envisioned by the New Silk Roads: "The Iranian side welcomes the 'Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road' initiative, introduced by China. Taking advantage of their respective strengths and opportunities created by the signing of the 'Memorandum of Understanding on the Joint Promotion of the Silk Road Economic Belt' and the 'Memorandum of Understanding on Strengthening Industrial and Mineral Capacities and Investments', both sides will expand cooperation and mutual investments in various areas, including transport, railways, ports, energy, industry, trade and services."

And item 10 celebrates Iran's participation as a 'Founding Member' of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Both parties are prepared to strengthen their cooperation in relevant areas and join their efforts towards the progress and prosperity of Asia. 

So, what's the deal with this agreement? 

The core of the Iran-China strategic partnership – which has been no secret to anyone since at least last year – revolves around a $400 billion Chinese investment in Iranian energy and infrastructure sectors over the next 25 years. All this to ensure a matter of paramount importance to Chinese national interest: the uninterrupted supply of oil and gas, bypassing the dangerous bottleneck of the Strait of Malacca, at a price discounted by 18%, paid in yuan or a basket of currencies, and avoiding the US dollar. 

Beijing will also invest approximately $228 billion in Iranian infrastructure – and this is where the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank comes in – over 25 years, but especially until 2025. These investments will range from the construction of factories and the much-needed modernization of the energy sector to the ongoing construction of a 900-kilometer electric railway linking Tehran to Mashhad. 

Tehran, Qom and Isfahan will also be linked by a high-speed rail line - and there will also be an extension to Tabriz, an important oil, gas and petrochemical hub, and the starting point of the Tabriz-Ankara gas pipeline.    

All of this makes perfect sense in terms of the New Silk Roads, since Iran is a crucial Eurasian crossroads. High-speed railways crossing Iran will link Urumqi in Xinjiang to Tehran, passing through four "istans" of Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan) and reaching Western Asia through Iraq and Turkey, continuing towards Europe: a techno-resurgence of the Ancient Silk Roads, where the main commercial language between East and West, across the vast interior, was Persian. 

The terms of air and naval cooperation between Iran and China, and also with Russia, have not yet been finalized – according to information from Iranian sources. And no one has yet had access to the details. What Mousavi said in a tweet was that "there is nothing in the agreement that deals with handing over Iranian islands to China, nothing about the presence of military forces, nor falsehoods of that nature." 

The same applies to speculations – unfounded in any kind of evidence – that the Chinese People's Liberation Army would be permitted to station troops on Iranian territory at bases ceded by Iran.

Last Sunday, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif stressed that Iran and China were conducting negotiations "with confidence and conviction," and that there was "nothing secret" about the agreement. 

Iranian, Chinese, and Russian negotiators will meet next month to discuss the terms of military cooperation between the three major nodes of Eurasian integration. Closer collaboration is scheduled to begin in November. 

In geopolitical and geoeconomic terms, the main conclusion is that the relentless blockade of the Iranian economy by the United States, which uses extremely heavy sanctions as a weapon, is powerless against the broad Iran-China agreement. Here This will provide a decent overview of some of the factors at play.

The Iran-China strategic partnership is yet another clear demonstration of what could be deconstructed as the Chinese strain of exceptionalism: a collective mindset and organized planning sufficient to achieve a broad and mutually beneficial economic, political, and military partnership.    

It is very enlightening to put the whole process into practice. context This is what State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi highlighted at a meeting of Chinese and American think tanks, which was attended by, among others, Henry Kissinger.

"A viewpoint that has been circulating in recent years claims that the success of the Chinese trajectory will represent a blow and a threat to the Western system and trajectory. This claim is not consistent with the facts, and we disagree with it. Aggression and expansion have never been in the genes of the Chinese nation throughout its 5.000-year history. China does not replicate models from other countries, nor does it export its own models. We have never asked other countries to copy what we do. More than 2.500 years ago, our ancestors argued that 'All living things can grow in harmony without harming each other, and different modes can run parallel without mutual interference.'"