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<a class="gmail-domain gmail-reader-domain" href="https://resumen-english.org/2026/05/trump-travels-to-china-but-iran-holds-all-the-cards/">resumen-english.org</a>
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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">Trump Travels to China, but Iran Holds All the Cards</h1>
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<p>By Pepe Escobar on May 14, 2026</p>
<p><img src="https://i0.wp.com/resumen-english.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/5-14-geo813_thumb_760-580x351-1.jpg?resize=300%2C182&ssl=1" alt="" width="300" height="182" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img"></p><p>A few days ago, Mr. Araghchi traveled to Russia.</p>
<p>Earlier this week, Mr. Araghchi traveled to China. These two trips vividly reflect the power of the <strong>new Russia-Iran-China triangle, which has emerged as the driving force behind Eurasian integration and multipolarity.</strong><span id="gmail-more-34876"></span></p>
<p>Some of Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi\u2019s remarks to the Iranian media were quite fascinating. For example:</p>
<p>\u201cOur Chinese friends believe that post-war Iran is different from
pre-war Iran. Its international standing has improved, and it has
demonstrated its capabilities and power. Therefore, a new era of
cooperation between Iran and other countries is on the horizon.\u201d</p>
<p>That is code for indicating that<strong> Beijing now recognizes\u2014and supports\u2014Tehran as a major world power.</strong></p>
<p>For his part, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi offered the definitive
definition of the U.S. and Israel\u2019s war against Iran: \u201cIllegitimate.\u201d</p>
<p>That is code for indicating that everything related to this chosen
war, from its causes to its countless consequences, is mired in a
quagmire of illegality.</p>
<p>Wang framed China\u2019s diplomatic initiative with his characteristic
courtesy: \u201cWe are willing to continue our efforts to de-escalate
tensions.\u201d</p>
<p>But he was much firmer on the path toward a resolution: \u201cChina
believes that a complete cessation of hostilities is imperative, that
reigniting the conflict is unacceptable, and that persisting in
negotiations is particularly important.\u201d</p>
<p>That should be the preamble to genuine negotiations leading to an end
to the war\u2014and to all wars\u2014in West Asia against the entire Axis of
Resistance. That is precisely the Iranian position.</p>
<p>Wang Yi emphasized that \u201c<strong>China supports Iran in safeguarding
its national sovereignty and security and appreciates Iran\u2019s willingness
to seek a political solution through diplomatic channels\u201d</strong>.</p>
<p>That is code for China\u2019s full backing of sovereign rights and diplomacy\u2014not intimidation.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.cubadebate.cu/especiales/2025/03/16/iran-con-fuerte-respaldo-de-china-y-rusia-no-se-deja-avasallar-por-trump/">Strait of Hormuz is absolutely vital to China</a> due to energy imports, not only from Iran but also from the Gulf oil monarchies. Therefore, Beijing\u2019s stance must be nuanced:</p>
<p>\u201cThe international community shares a common concern for restoring
normal and safe passage through the strait, and China hopes that the
parties involved will respond promptly to the strong calls from the
international community.\u201d</p>
<p>That is code for an end to the U.S. blockade, while showing respect
for the new legal framework in the Strait of Hormuz that Tehran is
developing.</p>
<p>On the nuclear issue, \u201c<strong>China appreciates Iran\u2019s commitment not to develop nuclear weapons</strong>, while recognizing Iran\u2019s legitimate right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy.\u201d</p>
<p>That is exactly Tehran\u2019s position, in stark contrast to Trump 2.0.</p>
<p><strong>Welcome to the new order of West Asia</strong></p>
<p>China, through Wang Yi, clarified three essential points: support for
all of Iran\u2019s reasonable demands; support for the withdrawal of U.S.
military bases throughout the Persian Gulf; and active participation in
Iran\u2019s post-war reconstruction.</p>
<p>At the same time, Beijing is urging Arab countries to come to an
agreement and work toward a new security framework\u2014excluding the Empire
of Chaos, Lies, and, most recently, Piracy (fully admitted by the U.S.
president). Once again: that is exactly Tehran\u2019s position.</p>
<p>With its proverbial tact, Beijing is de facto aligning itself with
former IRGC commander Mohsen Rezaee, the chief military advisor to the
new leader Mojtaba Khamenei.</p>
<p>Beijing perfectly understands how Tehran is positioning resistance as
a strategic asset. For the new power configuration in Tehran, <strong>the war has consisted of surviving maximum pressure</strong>\u2014and
devastating bombings\u2014; of absorbing and controlling the escalation
trap; and of refusing to yield to military and economic coercion.</p>
<p>All of this, taken together, could not be more strategic. Here we see how <strong>resistance has been transformed into political capital. And that translates immediately to the negotiating table</strong>, despite tactical losses (none of which are strategic).</p>
<p>This understanding is reflected in what are possibly the two key
statements by Araghchi and Wang Yi. Let\u2019s analyze them side by side.</p>
<p>Iran \u201csupports the establishment of a new post-war regional architecture capable of coordinating development and security.\u201d</p>
<p>China \u201csupports the establishment of a regional architecture of peace
and security in which the countries of the region participate jointly,
safeguard common interests, and achieve common development.\u201d</p>
<p>This new architecture is the new order of West Asia. So it is no
wonder that the Trump 2.0 universe finds itself in a swirling
disorientation.</p>
<p>Because this new order of West Asia is a microcosm, directly linked
to the macrocosm of the New Global Order, of which China is one of the
main drivers, alongside Russia.</p>
<p>Russia is focused on implementing, in the long term and against all
odds, a Greater Eurasian Partnership, which extends toward Afro-Eurasia.</p>
<p>Beijing is far more ambitious. Essentially, everything falls under
the Four Global Initiatives. The most recent is the Global Governance
Initiative, launched at the SCO Plus summit in Tianjin in September of
last year.</p>
<p>This follows the New Silk Roads, or BRI (Belt and Road Initiative),
which then evolved into the first three Global Initiatives: the Global
Development Initiative; the Global Security Initiative; and the Global
Civilization Initiative\u2014culminating in Global Governance.</p>
<p>Taken together, this is China\u2019s roadmap for \u201cbuilding a community
with a shared future for humanity\u201d\u2014the de facto alternative to
collapsing Western liberalism. The ambition is, indeed, global.</p>
<p><strong>China-Iran: Fully Aligned in West Asia</strong></p>
<p>What is already quite clear is that China and Iran share a fully
aligned vision for West Asia; in fact, that is the basis of their mutual
trust and dependence. Beijing and Tehran understand how post-World War
II history has been, in essence, a story of how Washington has used West
Asia to control the planet through an obsession with oil.</p>
<p>As much as Tehran has learned from the Chinese way of waging
war\u2014\u201cfeigning weakness when strong\u201d and disinterest when fully engaged
in war\u201d\u2014Araghchi\u2019s trip to Beijing was essential to re-solidifying the
strategic partnership. As fully committed as Russia is\u2014as confirmed by
the St. Petersburg meeting between Araghchi and Putin\u2014China remains in a
\u201cwe\u2019ve got your back\u201d position.</p>
<p>Incidentally, <strong>Chinese oil tankers continue to pass daily through the </strong><a href="http://www.cubadebate.cu/noticias/2026/04/18/iran-anuncia-nuevo-cierre-del-estrecho-de-ormuz-por-el-accionar-de-ee-uu/"><strong>Strait of Hormuz</strong></a><strong>. Not a peep from Washington.</strong></p>
<p>Then there is China\u2019s outright defiance of the latest round of sanctions.</p>
<p>Until recently, China circumvented U.S. sanctions unofficially and/or
through intermediaries. Now it officially declares that it does not
recognize unilateral U.S. sanctions against Iran or Russia, for example,
as well as sanctions against its own oil refineries.</p>
<p>We are in the midst of a financial Cold War and an offensive by the
RIC (Russia, Iran, China) to permanently curtail the power of the
obsession with sanctions.</p>
<p>Iran was completely expelled from SWIFT in 2012. So what Tehran did
was reconfigure the system, drawing on its experience in building a
parallel trade architecture<strong>.</strong></p>
<p>Iran conducts most of its cross-border trade in yuan, rubles, rupees,
UAE dirhams (no longer, as of now), and Iraqi dinars. China accounts
for up to 35% of Iran\u2019s total trade. Everything is settled in yuan or
through barter.</p>
<p>Iran and Russia formalized a currency settlement system in 2023,
completely bypassing SWIFT, which connects Iran\u2019s SEPAM and Russia\u2019s
SPFS. In the first phase of the Strait of Hormuz toll\u2014the mechanism is
constantly being adjusted and optimized\u2014a key payment method was via
China\u2019s CIPS.</p>
<p>The toll is inevitable. <strong>Tehran is fully aware that Trump will never agree to pay reparations for the illegal war he started,</strong> and is also aware of the inevitable crude manipulations when it comes to lifting the freeze on Iranian funds.</p>
<p>The toll can serve as a substitute for obtaining reparations and
collecting something equivalent to the Iranian funds frozen in Western
banks; it will also force the West to lift sanctions on Iranian banks
and the Iranian financial system.</p>
<p>After all, Tehran has already made it clear that only its banks are
authorized to collect the fees in the Strait of Hormuz. Translation:<strong> all nations needing to transit will have to deal with the Iranian financial system.</strong></p>
<p>Furthermore, the fees will help Iran rebuild its destroyed infrastructure.</p>
<p>Confronting the U.S.\u2019s structural vulnerability isn\u2019t even playing
checkers, let alone poker. China plays weiqi (\u201cgo\u201d). Weiqi consists of
setting up the board, slowly but surely, sacrificing a detail here and
there in exchange for overall supremacy. China has spent two decades
patiently setting up the board. In weiqi, once the board is set up
correctly, the rest of the Great Game plays out on its own.</p>
<p>That is where we stand now. If he possesses any intellectual
curiosity, Trump will be able to see China\u2019s powerful industrial
potential (what is called \u201cproductive capitalism\u201d) and its total control
over the supply chains on which the United States depends.</p>
<p>He will be confronted with America\u2019s structural vulnerability: the
proverbial list of rare earths, industrial supply chains, access to
materials essential for the F-35, Patriot missiles, and broad sectors of
the U.S. military-industrial complex. And he will be reminded that U.S.
law no longer possesses automatic extraterritorial authority within
China. Yes, that hurts.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, <strong>the seven centuries of confrontation between
Imperial Rome and Persia will continue to repeat themselves, at
lightning speed, in the 21st century</strong>. The U.S. war has proven
utterly impotent: impossible to win against attrition, and that will
lead Persia to supremacy in West Asia.</p>
<p>This astonishing geopolitical shift is being achieved thanks to a
potent mix of ideology, social cohesion, utter contempt for uncivilized
barbarians, and the drive to ruin them through impossible logistics. Not
to mention total control of the Strait of Hormuz.</p>
<p>Bubbles are rapidly bursting in the Empire of Chaos, Lies, and Piracy, mercilessly struck by the reality of the RIC.</p>
<p>Goodbye to the petrodollar? Saudi Arabia is not renewing the agreement and is betting everything on the yuan.</p>
<p>Saudi Arabia\u2019s Public Investment Fund (PIF) opened a second office in
mainland China earlier this year, establishing a branch in Shanghai to
expand its business activities and attract more Chinese investment to
the kingdom, as reported by Bloomberg on May 6.</p>
<p>The office was registered last year, reports to the PIF\u2019s Beijing
branch, and is led by Lily Cong, former senior representative for
Fidelity International in the Chinese capital.</p>
<p>Reportedly, the Shanghai office was created to bolster the $1
trillion fund\u2019s ability to close overseas deals in China, while
officials also seek to attract more Chinese companies to Saudi Arabia.</p>
<p>This initiative strengthens Riyadh\u2019s investment ties with Beijing,
while the United States remains an important market for the kingdom. The
Shanghai office expands the PIF\u2019s global presence, which already
includes offices in New York, London, Hong Kong, and Paris.</p>
<p>Saudi Arabia and China already maintain strategic and financial ties
in various sectors, including energy and finance, while other Gulf
sovereign wealth funds are also seeking to expand their exposure to
China.</p>
<p>Abu Dhabi is reportedly also considering transferring Chinese assets
held by two of its sovereign wealth funds to a new entity, a move that
could pave the way for a broader shift in its investment strategy.</p>
<p>The investment boom in the Gulf comes amid profound changes in West
Asian markets following the U.S. war against Iran, which have triggered
regional upheavals, putting pressure on Gulf economies and accelerating
the shift away from dollar-dominated energy trade.</p>
<p>Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and other Gulf states have strengthened their
financial ties with China, based on the yuan, while tensions in the
Strait of Hormuz have further highlighted the fragility of the
\u201cpetrodollar order.\u201d</p>
<p>According to a Fortune article, Riyadh has not formally renewed its
commitment to price oil exclusively in U.S. dollars until 2024, a year
after signing a $7 billion currency swap agreement with Beijing.</p>
<p>The Saudi Central Bank is also a key participant in the mBridge
digital payments platform, which enables direct currency exchanges using
block chain technology.</p>
<p>According to economists cited by Fortune, this shift reflects China\u2019s
growing weight in trade with Saudi Arabia, as Beijing has surpassed the
United States as the kingdom\u2019s largest oil customer.</p>
<p>\u201cEconomic gravity pointed toward the yuan, while currency sentiment
pointed toward the dollar,\u201d wrote Michael Harris, an analyst at EBC
Financial Group.</p>
<p>Saudi Arabia continues to conduct most of its transactions in U.S.
dollars, but the expansion of its financial ties with Beijing signals a
broader effort to diversify trade and investment channels, while China
positions the yuan as a potential alternative in global energy markets.</p>
<p><strong><em>Pepe Escobar </em></strong>is a Brazilian journalist and
global analyst who has contributed to Asia Times, CounterPunch, Russia
Today, Cubadebate and others</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://www.cubadebate.cu/autor/pepe-escobar/">Cubadebate</a>, translation Walter Lippmann</p>
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