By Mu Chunshan
Some have suggested, including in The Diplomat, that China could pressure Iran over its nuclear program and so help prevent a military strike by Israel.The Global Times, for its part, caused quite a stir with a recent article on this very issue. According to the writers, there’s increasing concern among policy makers in Beijing over the potential consequences of Israeli air strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, including the likelihood that there would be a spike in crude oil prices if the region were engulfed in conflict. As such, the article suggests, China can be expected to exert diplomatic pressure to prevent such a scenario unfolding.
However, the people I’ve spoken with who are familiar with the issue say that as much as China wants to avoid a war, there’s very little it can actually do.
Read the full story at The Diplomat