Лев и дракон: новый этап китайско-иранского стратегического партнёрства

2.2 Sino-Iranian Comprehensive Strategic Partnership agreement of June 2020

The Sino-Iranian talks on comprehensive strategic partnership agreement resulted in an 18-page document called the “Sino-Iranian Comprehensive Strategic Partnership”, approved by the administration of President Hassan Rouhani in June 2020. However, the partnership document is non-binding and looks more like a statement of intent [74]. Although the parties were in no hurry to disclose all the details of the signed document, part of which is classified, the Iranian government, which approved the Iranian-Chinese agreement as a project, announced the possibility of signing the document only after it was signed by the governments of both countries [16].

An as-yet-to-be-signed agreement between Beijing and Tehran covering trade, energy, infrastructure, telecommunications and even military cooperation [79], suggests China will invest a `total` of US $ 400 billion in Iran's banking, transport and development sectors [27]. Iran will offer special visa conditions for Chinese entrepreneurs in Iran and for Iranian entrepreneurs in China [18]. Chinese firms also continue to exploit the seabed resources of the southern coast of Iran [45].

China and Iran will also seek cooperation on renewable sources and civil nuclear power [45]. China National Nuclear Corporation is upgrading Iran's Arak IR-40 heavy water reactor to meet non-proliferation requirements as part of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. The Chinese government has extended a US $ billion loan to Chinese companies to build dams, power generators, and other infrastructures in Iran [32].

China’s “Information Silk Road”. The document provides for cooperation in developing telecommunication infrastructure (Digital Silk Road, 5G), basic services (search engines, email, and messaging applications), communication equipment (satellite navigation, switches, servers, and data storage), and consumer products (mobile phones, tablets, and laptops). Providing Iran with know-how and equipment will allow it to completely separate from the global Internet and form a national information network [74]. The Chinese BeiDou global satellite navigation system will be developed in Iran [15] and, accordingly, through Iran entering the ME. Iran Electronics Industries (IEI) was to create a space data collection center. With Chinese search engines, postal services, messaging apps and social media, Iran will be able to block the external Internet for a long time without jeopardizing day-to-day online activities [59].5

Conceptually, BeiDou is located within China’s “Information Silk Road”, a subset of its land and maritime silk routes under the BRI. China is now able to extend influence in a multidomain environment (land, sea and space) via its BeiDou space system, which provides navigation to aircraft, submarines, missiles, as well as commercial services dependent on such navigation [67]. The American war with Huawei, sanctions and even the arrest at the end of 2018 of Huawei's commercial director Meng Wangzhou for trying to disguise Chinese investments in Iran did not bring real success. Despite everything, 5G networks were rolled out and launched in Iran this February [24]. Iran also instructs China to develop the 5th generation of mobile phones (5G) networks in Iran, built by Huawei, which is being ousted from the United States [45].

China's investment in the Iranian fuel and energy complex. The main pillar of the updated agreement will be China's investment in the Iranian fuel and energy complex in the amount of US $ 280 billion over the next five years [7]. Under the agreement, Beijing expects to receive regular supplies of Iranian oil at significant discounts over the next 25 years [27]. Iran needs to increase oil production to 8.5 million barrels per day, which will go to the PRC at favorable tariffs for China and Iran will become the largest oil supplier to the PRC. Such a deal is especially important for Iran's energy sector, which is in dire need of significant investment to rebuild an aging oil industry that requires more than US $ 150 billion to modernize wells, refineries and another infrastructure [17]. Iran has set a goal of increasing oil production from 3.8 million barrels per day to 5 million by 2020, but most estimates indicated that Iran will not be able to produce more than 4.2 by the end of this decade, as the country needs US $ 200 billion in foreign investment over the same period [68].

China will be able to purchase any oil and gas products (oil, natural gas and petroleum products) with a minimum guaranteed discount of 12% off the 6-month average price for comparable benchmark products + up to 8% of this figure as compensation for risks. Beijing will also be given the right to defer payment of up to 2 years, and the ability to pay for goods in soft currency obtained as a result of doing business in Africa and the countries of the former SU, which, if skillfully converted, could give a discount of up to 12%. The `total` discount on oil and petrochemicals can be up to 32% [14].

Worth to note, that China has funded a number of petrochemical projects in Iran, reportedly providing US $ 13 billion for Iran’s Sabalan, Lordegan, Bushehr, and Masjed Soleyman petrochemical projects. In the first six months of 2014, Iranian projects received the second largest batch of Chinese investments, totaling US $ 17.2 billion, and US $ 11.6 billion was invested in the Iranian energy sector [60].