Editorials

No immediate change seen in China's Iran stance

By Zhang Haizhou (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-02-27 07:56

International pressure will have little impact on sanction decision

Mounting international pressure is not enough to change China's stance on the Iranian nuclear issue, analysts said on Friday, even as an Israeli delegation is trying to get Beijing's support for new sanctions against Teheran.

Still, some suggested it's possible that China "won't veto" the fourth round of sanctions.

An Israeli delegation, led by Vice-Prime Minister and Minister of Strategic Affairs Moshe Ya'alon, arrived in Beijing on Thursday. They held talks with State Councilor Dai Bingguo on Friday.

Apart from praising the development of bilateral ties between Beijing and Tel Aviv over the past 18 years, Dai and Ya'alon "also exchanged views on regional and international issues," the Foreign Ministry said without elaborating.

But persuading China to support new sanctions against Iran is widely believed to be the main purpose of the visit.

Ya'alon's delegation hopes to "drive a wedge between Beijing and Teheran", Iran's Press TV reported. The visit "comes as a surprise since the political wheeling and dealing of Tel Aviv officials does not normally involve China", it said.

Michael Oren, Israeli ambassador to the United States, said "the big question" for the delegation is "whether the Chinese will take part in this battle over sanctions", reported Jerusalem Post, Israel's English daily newspaper.

Guy Kivetz, spokesman for the Israeli embassy in Beijing, confirmed to China Daily that the Iranian issue was on Ya'alon's agenda in Beijing.

"China will hear Israel's view, but Israelis alone cannot change Beijing's stance. China's views will not be hijacked by policies of the US, Israel, or Iran," said Yin Gang, a senior Middle East expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

But China "won't veto" the fourth round of sanctions, Yin said, even though Beijing "is a friend of" Teheran. "China will fulfill its responsibility by persuading Iran. That's what it can do at the most."

He said China, considering its foreign relations with most other countries, won't choose to "stand shoulder to shoulder with a country which sees UN resolutions as wastepaper" at the end of day.

A permanent member of the UN Security Council, China did not veto the three past resolutions sanctioning Iran in 2006, 2007 and 2008. But these documents failed to stop Teheran's uranium enrichment program.

Earlier this month, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had asked his nuclear chief to step up uranium enrichment to 20 percent.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said this week she expects to see a new UN sanctions resolution in the next 30 to 60 days.

Clinton struck a positive tone, acknowledging that while some countries like China were still not ready to support new UN sanctions, "I think we've made a lot of progress" toward gaining Beijing's backing, the Associated Press reported.

However, Yao Jide, an Iran studies expert at Yunnan University's School of International Relations, said China would have to consider its own needs before committing to new measures.

"China will not deal with this issue purely based on US rules because China has its own national interests to consider," Yao said, according to AP. "But if Iran stated that it wanted to develop nuclear weapons, then China would definitely oppose that."

It's China's principle to oppose nuclear proliferation, though it still hopes for dialogue to resolve the Iranian issue.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said on Thursday there is still room for dialogue and negotiations. He called on "all parties" to consider the overall situation, strengthen communications, and maintain the momentum of dialogue and negotiations to achieve a peaceful solution.

Hua Liming, China's former ambassador to Iran, also said international pressure cannot change Beijing's view.

China supported the past three resolutions only because Iran was too tough, Hua said, adding Beijing's intention was different with Washington's when it chose to support those sanctions. "The US was trying to utterly deny Iran's right to use nuclear power peacefully, while Beijing was aiming to bringing Teheran back to the negotiations," he said.

When the third round of resolutions was passed in March 2008, China's then representative to the United Nations Wang Guangya said it was not to punish Iran, but to "activate a new diplomatic effort".

(China Daily 02/27/2010 page7)