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Fearing sanctions, Beijing dumps Tehran
China changes over ties with Iran out of fear of US retaliation, starts to slow down oil cooperation with Tehran.
Beijing (AsiaNews) – China is slowing down its investments in Iran’s oil industry, putting a break on its companies involved in energy projects in that country in order to appease the United States and avoid possible sanctions on Chinese companies with interests in Iran, this according to a report by Reuters, which cites executives from four major Chinese companies, who asked their names not be cited.
The stakes are high for Iran since China is one of the few nations that can provide billions in investments needed to maintain Iran’s strategic oil sector.
A slowdown in Chinese investments is the result of Beijing’s efforts, starting late last year, to reduce tensions with the Obama administration.
Vice President Joe Biden raised the matter during his recent visit to China, White House spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said.
Realising what was happening, Tehran has warned Chinese companies to continue with their ongoing plans. In fact, there are no signs that Beijing is prepared to sacrifice its ties with Tehran but relations are getting tense and harder to manage.
Chinese companies appear ready to maintain mid-level ties with Iran: neither too cold to cause a break, nor too warm to risk US sanctions.
The Chinese “began to signal to us very clearly,” said a senior US congressional aide. They “can't say it publicly, but” they are “not proceeding with [. . .] new contracts”.
For instance, China's second-largest oil and gas firm Sinopec Group, which Beijing-based oil sources said has done more work on the ground than others, has delayed the start date of its US$ 2 billion oil development plan in the Yadavaran field.