中国的地缘政治之路：中国伊朗政策个案研究（英）

SWP Research Paper Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik German Institute for International and Security Affairs Angela Stanzel China’s Path to Geopolitics Case Study on China’s Iran Policy at the Intersection of Regional Interests and Global Power Rivalry SWP Research Paper 5 February 2022, Berlin Abstract ∎ Chinese foreign policy is at the crossroads of regional interests and global power rivalry in the Middle East, especially in Iran. ∎ China’s interests in the Middle East increasingly collide with those of the US, which has brought about a significant re-orientation of Chinese for-eign policy on this region. Beijing is increasingly concerned with balanc-ing US influence in the region. Relations with Iran offer China various possibilities for balancing US influence. A decisive factor for China’s Iran policy are its regulatory ideas aiming to establish equality of influence between the major global powers in a given region, in this case the Mid-dle East. ∎ Chinese discourse underpins the shifts in Chinese foreign policy in which hard or soft balancing is increasingly becoming a feature of a “geo-politi-cised” regional policy. This geostrategic regional policy with regard to Iran shows that China is gaining influence there at the expense of the United States. ∎ German and European actors need a deeper understanding of China’s balancing policy. This would enable Germany and the EU to correctly assess and also question the rhetoric of the Chinese leadership. ∎ On this basis, Germany and the EU should adjust their engagement in Iran, especially with regard to the Iranian nuclear weapons issue. More-over, the new German government should ensure that foreign policy actions in third countries are comprehensive and coordinated with the EU so as to meet the challenges posed by China. Such coordination must also be pursued within the transatlantic framework. SWP Research Paper Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik German Institute for International and Security Affairs Angela Stanzel China’s Path to Geopolitics Case Study on China’s Iran Policy at the Intersection of Regional Interests and Global Power Rivalry SWP Research Paper 5 February 2022, Berlin All rights reserved. © Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, 2022 SWP Research Papers are peer reviewed by senior researchers and the execu-tive board of the Institute. They are also subject to fact-checking and copy-editing. For further information on our quality control pro-cedures, please visit the SWP website: https:// www.swp-berlin.org/en/ about-swp/quality-management-for-swp-publications/. SWP Research Papers reflect the views of the author(s). SWP Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik German Institute for International and Security Affairs Ludwigkirchplatz 3–4 10719 Berlin Germany Phone +49 30 880 07-0 Fax +49 30 880 07-200 www.swp-berlin.org swp@swp-berlin.org ISSN (Print) 2747-5123 ISSN (Online) 1863-1053 doi: 10.18449/2022RP05 Translation by Tom Genrich (English version of SWP-Studie 26/2021)