Chinese Professor Says Beijing Sees Iran War as Also Aimed Against China

April 18—Zhao Minghao, Professor and Deputy Director at the Center for American Studies at China’s Fudan University, stated bluntly, in an article published April 14 by Russia’s Valdai Discussion Club, that “Beijing is viewing this war as a direct assault on its vital interests rather than as a distant crisis,” referring to the Iran war. That was Zhao’s assessment even before U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the same day that the U.S. was launching “Operation Economic Fury” against China for its support to Iran.

Zhao elaborated: “Beijing is viewing this war as a test of Washington’s long-term strategic intentions. The U.S. has demonstrated its willingness to use high-intensity force to achieve regime change and control critical resources, signaling that it has not ‘retrenched’ from its global role….

“This conflict reflects a new strategy for maintaining U.S. hegemony, and the military operation carries strategic considerations aimed at securing interests and containing rivals. The Trump administration’s strategy increasingly emphasizes control over global strategic chokepoints and resource hubs. Washington has not abandoned the pursuit of regime change but may be experimenting with lower-cost methods of exerting control over other states.

“By weakening Iran, a critical pillar of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the U.S. is directly challenging China’s infrastructure and investment projects, such as the US$4 billion in FDI Beijing holds in Iranian equities. Since the beginning of this year, the Trump administration has used force against Venezuela and Iran, which are widely viewed as partners of China. In particular, both countries play critical roles in Beijing’s efforts to safeguard its energy security.

“Beijing views the simultaneous pressure on Tehran and Caracas as a coordinated American effort to dismantle China’s global resource network.”

Zhao points to an additional strategic danger which deeply concerns China: That the U.S. military strike on Iran, even as Iran was engaged in negotiations with the U.S., “may prompt Iran and more countries to accelerate their pursuit of nuclear weapons,” which might create an immediate threat to China. “As North Korea expands its nuclear arsenal and calls for nuclear armament [to] grow in South Korea and Japan, China faces a ‘nuclear forest’ on its borders—a long-term security nightmare,” he warned.

Against that backdrop, Zhao commented that U.S. President Donald Trump’s “potential visit to China in mid-May would be especially tricky,” given that the Chinese leadership views his military action “as a threat to the ‘multipolar world’ which China seeks to build…. The U.S. war on Iran is not just a regional crisis; it is also a concentrated display of the restless nature of American hegemony. The United States’ disregard for international law and other countries’ sovereignty, and its abuse of force, will not solve problems; it will only create even greater chaos.”