China, Iran and the Middle East — After Trump's Airstrikes

21/07/2025 40 min
China, Iran and the Middle East — After Trump's Airstrikes

Listen "China, Iran and the Middle East — After Trump's Airstrikes"

Episode Synopsis

Podcast: China In Context (LS 27 · TOP 10% what is this?)Episode: China, Iran and the Middle East — After Trump's AirstrikesPub date: 2025-07-01Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationThe shockwaves from Donald Trump’s airstrikes against Iran’s nuclear programme continue to reverberate. China condemned the attack as violating the UN Charter and warned that it risked destabilising the Middle East, an area where Beijing has fast-growing economic and diplomatic links — indeed China is now the biggest buyer of Iranian oil, and after the strikes the US asked it to persuade Tehran not to cut off oil supplies from the Gulf. So will the attack change China’s policy in the Middle East — and could it also have implications for China’s aim of regaining sovereignty over the island of Taiwan, with which the US has close defence ties? We hear the views of Rana Mitter, ST Lee Professor of US-Asia relations at Harvard University’s Kennedy School, and Professor Jonathan Fulton of Zayed University, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and author of a new book, Building the Belt and Road Initiative in the Arab World (Routledge, 2025) on China’s relations with the Arab world.Photo: Khamenei.ir / CC BY 4.0For information about the SOAS China Institute Corporate Membership scheme, please contact SCI director Steve Tsang: [email protected] ________________________________________The views and opinions expressed on this podcast are those of the speakers and are not necessarily those of the SOAS China Institute.________________________________________SOAS China Institute (SCI) SCI Blog SCI on X SCI on LinkedIn SCI on Facebook SCI on Instagram ________________________________________Music credit: Sappheiros / CC BY 3.0The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from SOAS China Institute, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.