What China thinks about the escalating Iran-Israel conflict

Beijing – The recent Flare-up in the tensions of the Middle East Do not shake up Chinese commercial optimism on opportunities in the region.

Chinese expeditions to the Dubai logistics center increased by 20% this month compared to a year ago, while residents are full of daily batteries and necessities, according to Bear Huo, Chinese Managing Director at Fundpark, an Finch startup that lends money to small Chinese companies selling abroad via internet platforms.

“Overall, Chinese merchants are relatively optimistic,” he said in Mandarin on Monday, according to a translation of the CNBC. This is partly due to the relatively recent climb of the Middle East as a fast growing market, he added.

Chinese companies have turned more and more to the region in recent years – whether to collect funds from local investors or operate a new market for electric cars – in the midst of trade tensions with the United States. On the geopolitical front, Beijing helped Riyadh and Tehran Restore diplomatic relations in 2023.

Huo’s point of view is that Irano-Israeli tensions will end relatively soon, since even American strikes have targeted specific strategic sites, and that the fighting is not distributed along a border as in the conflict written between Russia and Ukraine.

However, the risks remain high because the port of Dubai is just through the Hormuz Strait of Iran.

The ships move slower and there are fewer flights, said Huo. He said that he did not know where the products of Chinese sellers go after their arrival in Dubai and added that the company did not deal directly with Iran due to sanctions.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said it “strongly condemns” American attacks On Iran during the weekend, while calling on all the parties involved in “reaching a cease-fire as soon as possible”.

China trade with Iran has declined strongly in the past two years, according to customs data accessible via wind information. The gross exporter punishable by the United States has relied considerably on Beijing’s purchases.

“A more stable Middle East serves the economic and strategic interests of China,” said Yue SU, the main economist based in Beijing for China in the Economy Intelligence Unit.

“Beijing will be interested in positioning itself as a constructive power capable of contributing to global stability,” she said. She noted that Chinese companies will probably interact with caution with Iran, making concerns about possible secondary sanctions.

The broadcaster of the news from the CCTV state distributed interviews on Sunday of Chinese citizens grateful for the efforts of Beijing to evacuate them from Iran.

Although there is strict Warnings on American citizens traveling to IranChinese citizens were capable of visiting Iran without visa For three weeks, for tourism or business. Most of the Chinese nationals who were in Iran were evacuatedThe Chinese Embassy said on Monday in Iran on Monday.

On an even more optimistic note, if the last escalation translates into a relaxation of American sanctions against Iran, tens of thousands of Chinese companies would probably rush into the country of the Middle East to build its tourism, its real estate and its global infrastructure, said Qin Gang, founder based in Beijing of a council which is translated by Ode and Song culture industry.

He said he had visited five cities in Iran in 2013 during the invitation of Mahan Air, an Iranian airline in the private sector.