Energy security is a key issue for Beijing, which is largely dependent on oil imports from Iran and the Persian Gulf countries. On the other hand China they see the strategic balance in the Indo-Pacific shifting in their favor in the face of war in the Middle East.
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Beijing is likely to be closely monitoring U.S. military activities in Iran and gaining extremely valuable information that it will almost certainly include in its plans for a possible conflict over Taiwan, Western officials told Bloomberg, asking not to be identified.
Taiwan is an autonomous island that China claims as its territory. Taipei rejects this view.
President Xi Jinping would likely welcome a shift of U.S. attention and resources to the Middle East rather than the Indo-Pacific, officials said.
Unlike most other Group of 20 leaders, Xi has so far remained silent on the conflict.
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A Chinese commentator ridiculed American elites
While China has repeatedly said in the past that Taiwan must be brought under its control, by force if necessary, Beijing has not signaled it intends to do so any time soon.
Xi Jinping he also launched China's largest purge of generals since the end of Mao Zedong's rule in 1976 – an anti-corruption campaign that undermines the Chinese People's Liberation Army's war readiness.
Influential Chinese commentators such as Hu Xijin, former editor-in-chief of the tabloid Global Times, were more open, however, drawing analogies to Taiwan.
Hu wrote last week on Weibo, a Chinese social networking site, that the devastating war showed how “strained” American military capabilities are, as Iran has already been weakened by decades of sanctions.
“It's really funny that some American elites still talk so enthusiastically about fighting the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in the Taiwan Strait,” he wrote.
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Donald Trump postponed his meeting with Xi Jinping
The escalation of the U.S. conflict with Iran significantly affects the priorities of American foreign policy.
US President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that he was postponing a planned visit to Beijing, during which he was scheduled to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The visit is expected to be postponed for approximately five to six weeks.
Source: Bloomberg
