日批在线视频_内射毛片内射国产夫妻_亚洲三级小视频_在线观看亚洲大片短视频_女性向h片资源在线观看_亚洲最大网

Global EditionASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
Opinion
Home / Opinion / Global Lens

Iran attack and illusion of strategic correction

By Maria Luiza Falc?o Silva | CHINA DAILY | Updated: 2026-03-16 07:05
Share
Share - WeChat
MA XUEJING/CHINA DAILY

It has been mistakenly argued that the weakening of Iran following attacks by the United States and Israel is a major strategic setback for China. According to this view, Beijing's long-term engagement with Tehran is a central pillar of its Middle East strategy, and the degradation of Iran's capabilities therefore constrains China's global ambitions.

Such interpretations deserve closer scrutiny. Regional developments are not insignificant, but they risk conflating tactical events with structural transformations in the international system. The deeper issue is not whether one partnership has been strained but whether military action can meaningfully shape — or redefine — the trajectory of a global power transition.

Over the past two decades, China has expanded its economic engagement across the Middle East through trade, energy cooperation and infrastructure projects linked to the Belt and Road Initiative. This engagement has been predominantly commercial. Energy security, maritime connectivity and diversified supply chains are fundamental to China's development model. Stability in the Gulf region is therefore not peripheral to Beijing's interests but structurally embedded in them.

To frame China's relationship with Iran primarily as a geopolitical maneuver reflects a securitized reading of international relations. China is the world's largest importer of crude oil. Prolonged instability in the Middle East would increase costs, heighten risks, and undermine the predictability essential to global trade. For an economy deeply integrated into global markets, systemic instability cannot be a strategic asset.

This does not imply that China's foreign policy is devoid of strategic calculation. Like all major countries, Beijing cultivates partnerships that advance its economic and security priorities. Yet its approach has differed from traditional alliance-based security architectures. Rather than constructing formal military blocs, China has emphasized economic integration, infrastructure development and participation in multilateral platforms such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and expanded cooperation under the BRICS framework.

The tendency in some Western analyses to describe a cohesive anti-Western axis risks reviving Cold War mentalities in a far more complex and interdependent world. Today's international environment is characterized less by rigid ideological blocs and more by overlapping networks of cooperation and competition. Many countries maintain economic ties with multiple major powers simultaneously, reflecting pragmatic national interests rather than exclusive alignment.

Structural power in the 21st century is increasingly rooted in technological capacity, industrial scale, financial networks and market depth. These dimensions evolve gradually and are not easily reversed by regional episodes.

The bigger concern raised by recent events is the growing normalization of military instruments as tools of geopolitical adjustment. When the use of force is framed as a mechanism to "correct" strategic imbalances, the international system risks entering a cycle in which coercion replaces institutional coordination. Such dynamics are particularly destabilizing in an era defined by deep economic interdependence.

Global supply chains, energy markets, digital infrastructure and climate governance all depend on predictability. Escalatory patterns in strategically sensitive regions introduce systemic uncertainty that extends beyond local actors. The Middle East, situated at the crossroads of major energy routes and maritime corridors, plays a pivotal role in this architecture.

China's long-standing diplomatic position emphasizes respect for sovereignty, non-interference and negotiated solutions. Whether one agrees with every aspect of this approach, the principle that stability should take precedence over escalation reflects the realities of an interconnected global economy. Durable security cannot be sustained solely through episodic demonstrations of military capability; it requires institutional frameworks capable of managing competition.

It is also essential to place these developments within the broader shift of economic gravity toward Asia. This transformation is not contingent upon a single bilateral relationship. It reflects sustained industrial upgrading, technological innovation, and demographic scale across large parts of the region. The redistribution of economic weight is structural and cumulative.

No single regional episode can fundamentally alter that trajectory. Conversely, no major power can secure long-term stability by relying predominantly on coercive instruments in a system shaped by interdependence.

The challenge for leading economies — including China and the US — is not to eliminate competition, but to manage it within frameworks that prevent global fragmentation. The international order is undergoing recalibration. Institutions built in the mid-20th century face pressures generated by new centers of economic gravity. Reform, adaptation and expanded representation are inevitable components of this transition. Narratives that reduce complex structural change to binary victories or defeats risk obscuring the real stakes.

The key question is not whether one country has constrained another's regional influence in the short term. It is whether the global system can evolve toward a more inclusive and balanced model of governance. That evolution requires dialogue, economic cooperation, and institutional reform rather than reliance on force as a primary instrument of adjustment.

Military actions may produce immediate tactical outcomes, but they do not determine the deeper currents of global transition. The defining challenge of the 21st century lies not in demonstrating the capacity to disrupt, but in constructing frameworks capable of accommodating change while preserving stability.

The author is a Brazilian political economist and former professor at the University of Brasília.

The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

If you have a specific expertise, or would like to share your thought about our stories, then send us your writings at opinion@chinadaily.com.cn, and comment@chinadaily.com.cn.

Most Viewed in 24 Hours
Top
BACK TO THE TOP
English
Copyright 1994 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US
主站蜘蛛池模板: 成人激情视频在线播放 | 亚洲ab| 午夜激情一区 | 久久xxxx | 在线天堂资源 | 夜夜夜夜操 | 久久九色| 国产亚洲精品久久久久久无几年桃 | 人人搞人人干 | 欧美xxxxxx片免费播放软件 | 波多野结衣一区二区三区四区 | wwwwww日本| 超碰男人的天堂 | 亚洲色图网站 | 四虎午夜 | 久久久综合色 | 久久99精品久久久 | 久久久久久不卡 | 国产成人精品自拍 | 国产在线播放一区二区三区 | 亚色视频在线观看 | 亚洲第九十九页 | 激情五月激情综合网 | 成人性视频在线 | 久久国产成人 | www黄色网 | 少妇三级 | 欧美第三页 | 日本一本不卡 | 国产一区二区精品久久 | 中文字幕の友人北条麻妃 | 欧美激情视频一区二区 | 久久人视频 | 日韩一级黄色大片 | 日本中文字幕在线 | 久久看片 | 成人二区三区 | av大片免费 | av在线资源| 黄色一级片一级片 | 视频一区二区在线 |