OBOR, Iran-China Trade Relations: Sanctions and Cooperation

Since 2013, concurrent with the increasing rate of growth in China’s Gross Domestic Product, which brought about economic growth and development for the country and helped it surpass the world’s economies with great speed to gain the position of the second largest economy in the world, the One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative was introduced. Having land borders with 15 countries, China proposed OBOR to strengthen its periphery diplomacy on the one hand and stretch its soft power across several regions and countries on the other hand, particularly in terms of economy and technology. Considering the geographical features, the OBOR initiative will incorporate various regions, i.e., South-East Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, the Persian Gulf, the Horn of Africa, Central/Eastern Europe, etc. For that reason, China has signed several contracts and memoranda of understanding with more than 140 different regional/international organizations and countries. Most studies insist on the Persian Gulf as one of the most important partner regions in OBOR, owing to its oil resources, which are essential to China’s energy needs. Accordingly, this article scrutinizes the cooperation and interactions as well as advantages and challenges in the relations between the People’s Republic of China and the Islamic Republic of Iran, as a leading player in the Persian Gulf.