Central Asia and Afghanistan in the strategic partnership between Iran and China

The 25-year plan of joint cooperation between Iran and China has paved the way for upgrading the level of relations between the two countries to comprehensive strategic partnership. This has taken place in the context of two decades of bilateral relations between Tehran and Beijing and within the framework of common interests at the national, regional and international levels. At the same time, all three criteria of strategic compliance, environmental uncertainty, system principle and strategic fit in the formation of strategic partnership between Iran and China have been qualitatively met. In this regard, considering China's network of strategic partnerships clearly shows that the role of Iran in this network will not be isolated from other Chinese partners. Among these partners, Central Asian states and Afghanistan, which by 2013 have all signed several models of strategic partnership documents with China, have significant importance. This paper aims to answer the question of how Central Asia and Afghanistan affect the strategic partnership between Iran and China. Responsively, the three criteria of strategic geopolitics, linkage of geoeconomics and non-Western multilateralism are the factors that will influence the strengthening of Iran-China strategic partnership through the participation of Central Asian countries and Afghanistan. The paper seeks to answer the main question using a descriptive-analytical method and using the strategic partnership model presented by Thomas Wilkins.