U.S. Ambassador to China: Beijing Should Reconsider Its Relations with the Iranian Government

Nicholas Burns, the U.S. Ambassador to China, accused Beijing of aligning with "disorderly elements" in the world, stating that the Biden administration is making last-ditch efforts to persuade China to reconsider its relationships with Russia, the Islamic Republic, and North Korea. Mr. Burns mentioned that the Biden administration wants to convince China not to send equipment used in Russia's war against Ukraine. During an interview at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, he noted that nearly 400 Chinese companies export dual-use products to Russia, which have both military and civilian applications. Nicholas Burns also stated that China supplies 90% of the microelectronics used in Russia's military actions. With less than two weeks until the return of Donald Trump, the U.S. President-elect, to the White House, Mr. Burns has raised U.S. concerns regarding Russia, as well as China's alignment with the Islamic Republic and North Korea, in meetings with Chinese officials. He will leave China next Tuesday. According to Mr. Burns, China's policies towards Russia, the Islamic Republic, and North Korea do not align with Beijing's desire to play a leading role in international global order initiatives, such as the World Trade Organization and the Paris Agreement on climate change. He further added that Beijing is aligning itself with the most unreliable disorderly elements in the global system. Mr. Burns emphasized that the Chinese cannot have it both ways and must decide on their approach. He also stated that China, which buys large amounts of oil from Iran, should use its influence to compel the Houthi militants, who are supported by Tehran, to stop their attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea. This week, Mr. Burns met with senior Chinese officials, including Ma Zhaoxu, the Executive Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Liu Jianchao, the head of the International Department of the Communist Party of China, who is expected to be the next Foreign Minister. According to the ship tracking company Kepler in Vienna, which specializes in tracking Iranian oil shipments, China has quadrupled its imports of Iranian oil nearly two years after mediating a peace agreement between the Islamic Republic and Saudi Arabia, purchasing over 90% of Iran's oil exports last year. The sale of oil from the Islamic Republic to China constitutes more than five percent of Iran's total economy and finances many of Tehran's activities. In recent months, following increased tensions in the Middle East and the confrontation between the Islamic Republic and Israel, China has attempted to calm the situation, sending one of its four Vice Premiers to meet with Masoud Pezeshkian, the head of the Islamic Republic government, in Tehran last month. Source: The New York Times. Joe Biden will speak on Monday about his foreign policy record. The Islamic Republic's efforts to retrieve 25 million barrels of oil from Chinese ports. The ban on the entry of U.S.-sanctioned oil tankers into ports in Shandong Province, China. Report: Iran's oil exports have increased despite sanctions.