A Union of Adversaries: The China-Iran Deal

As tensions with China continue to rise, it is critical that the Biden Administration continue to treat China as an adversary rather than a partner. Earlier this year, on March 27, Iran and China signed a $400 billion, 25-year strategic cooperation agreement to cement a political and economic partnership between the two countries for years to come. As China expands its influence in the Middle East, all Western, freedom-loving nations should be concerned. This newly minted partnership undermines American interests in the region and demonstrates that China is no longer merely a competitor in global influence.

So why should we be concerned? Dubbed the “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership,” this deal allows China to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in a variety of Iranian projects, including nuclear power, oil and mineral mining, and transportation and infrastructure. In exchange, Iran will provide China a regular and heavily discounted supply of oil. This will allow Iran to dodge existing U.S. sanctions by creating a new and sustainable avenue for exporting oil. While the U.S. has become less dependent on foreign oil imports due to increased shale production, China imports over 10 million barrels of oil per day and is poised to fill this void as countries like Saudi Arabia look for new export markets.

By allowing Iran to dodge U.S. sanctions, China is effectively funneling money into the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its proxies in the Middle East, which the Trump Administration designated as a foreign terrorist organization in 2019. Further, the deal could lead to weapons sales or technology transfers between the two countries that were not specifically outlined in the deal.

Another dangerous prospect of the China-Iran agreement includes bringing Iran into China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The BRI began in 2013 as a way for China to increase its influence in Europe and Southeast Asia, while simultaneously expanding the international use of its currency, the yuan. This is especially a point of concern in the proposed agreement, as it calls for the two countries to establish an Iranian-Chinese bank that would advance China’s goal of weakening the U.S. dollar and Iran’s goal of evading U.S. sanctions.

Additionally, the deal calls for increased military cooperation, including frequent joint training exercises, strategic cooperation on research and weapons development, and intelligence sharing. For example, the proposed agreement includes the construction of two port facilities along the Sea of Oman, giving China a strategic location along the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important choke points.

As the Biden Administration seeks to negotiate a new nuclear agreement, Iran will use this strategic partnership as leverage for the U.S. to lift economic sanctions. There are a few steps I believe the Biden Administration should take to well-position the United States:

First, the current Administration should reinstate the sanctions imposed by the Trump Administration by passing H.R. 2718, the Maximum Pressure Act. This crucial piece of legislation, which I am proud to cosponsor, will codify Trump’s Iran strategy into law and ensure Congress is involved in any future sanction negotiations. Rather than making needless concessions to force a deal with Iran, the Biden Administration should make it clear that any effort to undermine U.S. interests or evade existing sanctions will result in the United States leaving the bargaining table.

Second, the Administration should stop treating China with kid gloves. We must take a proportionate response to China’s aggression and isolate the Chinese Communist Party. The Biden Administration should uphold its commitment to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and ensure any government official who knowingly assisted in the gross human rights violations in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, where ethnic minorities are imprisoned in forced labor camps, are held accountable.

Third, the United States should also prohibit the sale of national security sensitive technology and intellectual property to China and increase taxes on multinational corporations’ income earned in China at a rate comparable to the lost value of stolen intellectual property.

If the Biden Administration wants the United States to remain the preeminent global power, they should start taking China and Iran’s Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and its implications more seriously.