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Lafayette Journal and Courier Ancient silk road conveys powerful new alliance The recent signing of an oil contract between Iran and China marks a new engagement between two Asian powers, thereby hinting at a restructuring of global power. The policies of both countries make them the target of U.S. ire. In a recently released "National Security Strategy," the Bush administration condemns Iran for its nuclear program and criticizes China for preventing free trade. The oil agreement protects both countries, no matter future American policies. China is assured fuel for its industry, and Iran is guaranteed consumer goods. But do these countries share enough common values and historic experiences to make this more than a short-lived commercial cooperation? Iran and China adhere to distinct ideologies, so they seem to have little in common. Shiism underpins the Iranian theocracy. Atheism defines communist China. Their leaders speak different languages, and this signifies more than a need for Mandarin-Farsi translators. And yet, despite ideological differences, the people of these two countries share a history that dates back 1,500 years, when the Silk Road connected the entire continent of Asia. This trade route ran from the East China Sea to the Black Sea. And far from a historic footnote of no contemporary import, the Muslim communities of northwest China even now highlight the lasting imprint that the Silk Road made on Asia's social topography. Today, oil pipelines mark a route once traveled by camels, and the commercial agreement revitalizes a link between outposts of the ancient Silk Road. American policymakers have expressed concern for the economic and political development of this region in the past ten years. In the Silk Road Strategy Act of 1999, the Committee of Foreign Relations targeted Central Asia as a beneficiary of policies intended to promote free market economies and liberal political systems, while also aiming "to support U.S. business interests and investments in the region." Though targeting former Soviet provinces, this policy must have raised the hackles of security-conscious Iran and China. Iran and China engaged in a long struggle against Anglo-American imperial designs. The British effort to secure Chinese commerce led to the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911. During World War I, British troops assumed control of oil fields in or near Iran. During World War II, Iran and China again became pawns of the Anglo-American alliance. In Iran, the British replaced Reza Shah as leader. In China, the U.S. supported the admittedly corrupt administration of Chiang Kai-shek, and not that of Mao Zedong. Neither country gained full control of its domestic and foreign affairs until the 1970s, when mainland China replaced Taiwan in the U.N., and Iranians threw out the Shah, an American puppet. Anti-Western sentiments, however, can only go so far in fostering a sustainable alliance. In a more positivist vein, Iran and China both seek to realize a common economic vision that would create their own brand of centralized state capitalism. Deng Xiaoping initiated market reforms in the 1980s, but he did not want economic liberalism to threaten China's one-party state. Iran's "Islamic economy" evolved at the same time, and leaders in Iran also seek economic liberalization without losing the ability to maintain control over political process. By offering protection from sanctions, the oil contract allows Iran and China to continue developing their brand of state-centric capitalism. China's own history of nuclear development suggests that it may not take part in a global condemnation of Iran's military programs. Iranians maintain their right to develop nuclear energy. The Chinese must empathize with these statements, for their country also developed a nuclear program outside global agreements and despite superpower opposition. China refused to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1963, detonating an atomic bomb the next year. Since China realized its nuclear ambitions without international approval, it may prove more patient with Iran than other countries. Iran and China do share the common values and historic experiences needed to forge a sustainable alliance. Their Silk Road geography has linked them for two millennia, and both want to curb Western influence in Asia. And these economic partners both advocate a form of capitalism in which the state plays a greater role than in the West. If pursued, a Sino-Iranian alliance would challenge American influence in the international arena. Holden is an assistant professor of history at Purdue University.
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