Political Economy Foundations in Comprehensive Strategic Cooperation Agreement between Iran and China:Extension of Effective National and Regional Territories

Iran and China have converged into cooperation as a result of the realities in political and spatial structures of power in Iran and the geopolitical realities governing the international system. Given the strategic importance of the comprehensive 25-year cooperation plan between Iran and China, this study adopted a descriptive-analytical method to analyze the political economy foundations of this agreement and identify the factors affecting the convergence of these two countries into signing the agreement. According to the results, the Chinese state employs neo-mercantilism to resolve the bottlenecks of its export-based economy and secure the imported energy sources in order to extend its influence on strategic areas such as the Persian Gulf. The results also indicated the factors encouraging Iran to sign this agreement with China. These factors are as follows: the nature of Iran’s governing political system, confronting the dominance and hegemony of the US, leaving isolation, harnessing the pressure exerted by the West, improving the resilience of the political system to the potential pressure exerted by the West in the future, enhancing the ability to take risks, and benefiting from China’s veto power in the UN Security Council. This study also aimed to determine the critical or beneficial conditions that the Iran–China agreement could bring to Iran. Finally, this agreement can provide Iran with certain benefits in the current era.