Is There a China Strategy Behind the Iran War?

There is a view in Washington that the U.S. operation against Iran has been a dramatic setback for China. This perspective stems from a belief that in launching Operation Epic Fury, the U.S. has not only degraded the Iranian regime but also diminished China’s standing in the region and beyond. A corollary to this argument is the idea that the U.S. has sent a message of deterrence to Beijing with this operation, and thus the war fits into a broader China strategy. These claims rest on several faulty assumptions, namely that Iran is China’s most important partner in the Middle East, that China is entirely dependent on the region for its own energy, and that this show of American combat power will give pause to Beijing’s own aspirations to seize Taiwan. These beliefs misunderstand China’s priorities in the Middle East and beyond...

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