As tensions between Washington and Tehran remain high, China’s role is under growing scrutiny. How far would Beijing go to support Iran — and where are the limits if conflict broke out with the US?

China has warned the United States against taking any military action in Iran, calling such moves “military adventurism” that could plunge West Asia into chaos. Speaking at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC),

With Iran in crisis, Moscow and Beijing may be starting to hedge.

Beijing is balancing vital energy interests with long-standing diplomatic principles and a cautious Middle East recalibration, analysts say.

The mullahs have declared victory. Their thuggish Basij militiamen have retreated to their lairs. Municipal workers are scrubbing the blood from Tehran’s pavements.

The billions flowing into these operations are funding a new kind of weapon: industrialized artificial intelligence.

China is currently constructing the Sarakhs railway terminal on the Turkmenistan–Iran border, a project expected to accelerate container transport along the China–Central Asia–Iran–Turkey–EU and Gulf routes. In August 2025, Iranian authorities reported that more than half of the project had been completed.

Claims that China carried out a large military airlift to Iran in late January spread quickly online. U.S. officials say the story is false and distracts from the more limited reality of Beijing’s

China is the largest importer of Iranian oil, and it always has a tried-and-tested toolkit for evading sanctions enforcement.

By Siyi Liu SINGAPORE, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Chinese independent refiners are buying discounted Iranian heavy crude to replace Venezuelan shipments that have stalled after the U.S. claimed control of the OPEC producer last month,

Tensions are rapidly escalating in the Middle East as Iran prepares for major joint naval exercises with China and Russia near the Strait of Hormuz — one of the world’s most critical global trade and oil chokepoints.