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China Should Act Responsibly on Iran

[Far Eastern Economic Review] John W. Garver - Since 2002 when revelations regarding Iran's previously clandestine nuclear programs surfaced, China has sought to balance between cooperation with the international community and currying favor with Iran, delaying and watering down sanctions. This approach is now reaching the limits of utility. If China's economic clout is not used to nudge Tehran toward cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Security Council to verify that Iran's nuclear programs are entirely of a non-military nature, the result could be intensified rivalry and insecurity in the Gulf, chain-reaction nuclear weaponization across the Middle East, or even war. None of these outcomes comports with China's basic interest in stable, secure access to Persian Gulf oil. China's core interests in the Persian Gulf region are the same as those of the U.S. and Europe: the stable, uninterrupted flow of oil from that region at reasonable prices. China's current policies do not serve that interest. While Russia has military technology, its firms simply do not have the capital, entrepreneurial skills, or technology to modernize Iran's economy as Chinese firms do. If China declared its unwillingness to assist Iran's economic development until Tehran satisfies the IAEA, Tehran would have nowhere else to turn. The writer is a professor at the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta.
2008-10-16 01:00:00
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