Iran wants a “strategic partnership” with China
For China, Iran is just one piece on a large chessboard
CHINA COMMANDS a certain mystique in the Middle East. For politicians in Lebanon, broke and on the brink of hyperinflation, it is an ATM waiting to dispense billions if they can only find the passcode. For the regime of Bashir al-Assad in Syria it is a deus ex machina to rebuild a shattered country. Often caricatured, the Middle East is prone to draw caricatures of its own.
This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Friends without benefits”
Middle East & Africa October 10th 2020
From the October 10th 2020 edition
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