Iran 'solution' a trap
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There is rampant speculation that the visits by Steven Chu, the United States energy secretary, to Saudi Arabia on Monday and a high-ranking Israeli delegation to Beijing later this week both will focus on persuading China to support United Nations sanctions against Iran over its nuclear energy program.
Even if this is the focus of the two diplomatic missions, the result will be disappointing to those who want to coerce China into shifting its position on the Iran nuclear issue.
According to Monday's Financial Times, the US is hoping that by pushing Saudi Arabia to sell more crude oil to China, it will help China to be less dependent on oil from Iran and more willing to support sanctioning Iran.
Such talks are not new. In fact, details of a potential US-brokered deal on increasing crude oil exports to China from Saudi Arabia and other Middle East countries was revealed as early as last year. Nothing ever came of the US' attempt because Beijing has always stood firm on its stance.
The Chinese government has repeatedly made clear that negotiations and dialogue are the keys to break the current international impasse over Iran's nuclear program. Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said earlier this month that China supports increased diplomatic efforts and an early agreement for an internationally backed nuclear fuel proposal for Teheran.
Hence, the attempt to coerce China into siding with the US through oil trade deals is both ill-advised and ill-intentioned.
It's true that Iran is an important crude oil supplier to China. But it is also true that China now buys oil from a variety of regions through pipelines and sea shipments thanks to its efforts to seek diversified sources of energy.
A sustainable energy supply is crucial to the largest developing country with a rapidly growing economy. But it will only achieve this goal through fair means.
A responsible country committed to world peace, China will never trade in its principles for economic gains. This has been tested time and again and widely applauded by many in the international community.
On the other hand, contrary to the fallacy that China is the major obstacle to the UN's efforts to impose tighter sanctions against Iran, a few influential UN members including Western allies, such as Italy and Japan, also desire oil supplies from Iran. Their interests will also be in jeopardy if the situation in the Islamic country deteriorates.
China's opposition to tighter sanctions on Iran is the natural result of its peaceful foreign policy. Linking the issue with oil deals is nothing but a trap so that some in the West could again blame China if peaceful solutions ultimately fail.
What happened in the past has proven that the world's only superpower never seriously considers any opposition from other nations if it is determined to take extreme actions against a country it dislikes.
