Blindspot #035 Iran & China stands together to counter unilateralism on the fringes of Eurasia

Buiteboer // From Bunker 42

5/5/22 

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Chinese Defence Minister visits Iranian Prime Minister (April 2022)

As Blindspot has been arguing, Eurasian integration is anchored in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, with Iran as full member. 

While the headlines remain occupied with a mix of war in Ukraine, and the adverse asymmetric impact it has had on markets the world over, developments in and on the fringes of Eurasia continue. 

In the final week of April, the Chinese Minister of Defence, Wei Fenghe, paid an official visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Defence Aviation Space Insider (das)insider reports that during the visit, the Chinese Minister of Defence met with President Ebrahim Raisi. 

Such a high level visit from Beijing necessarily means that one need to pay very close attention to the specific words used. Both Tehran and Beijing would use such a moment to clearly articulate the strategic objectives they aim to achieve. 

In this regard President Raisi said that the successful implementation of the 25-year strategic cooperation agreement between the two countries, signed in 2021, was a priority for Tehran, according to the state media.

More pointedly though, and important to note in a time when the Russian Federation is clearly not only at war with Ukraine, but all NATO- and other nations, providing arms to support Kiev. 

President Raisi said: “Confronting unilateralism and creating stability and order is possible through the cooperation of independent and like-minded powers.” He added that the current “regional and global developments show more than ever the value of Iran-China strategic cooperation.”

On his part, the Chinese Minister of Defence said his visit was aimed at “improving the strategic defense cooperation” between Tehran and Beijing, which would have a “remarkable” impact on fighting terrorism and defusing unilateralism, “particularly in the current critical and tense situation.”

This visit by the Chinese Defence minister, at this time, is highly significant, especially if one looks at the wording deployed at the occasion. It means China’s defence minister is in full agreement with the sentiments expressed. 

For those observers paying attention to the pace of actions taken by India, China, Iran, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and a number of other SCO member states, to trade in national currencies, open banking facilities for Russian citizens and businesses, it is clear that the China-Iran strategic cooperation is a critical feature of a Eurasia responding to, and looking inward, for solutions, and mutual support in a time where the world system is undergoing transformation, and bifurcation. 

Global Reserve Currency Wars, Food Wars

The ‘Money War’… 

As noted in previous Blindspots, the US dollar’s status as global reserve currency is caught on the slippery slopes that lead only one way, downwards. When NATO withdrew from Afghanistan last year, Blindspot asked whether the dollar will follow the same course as NATO’s forces collapsing in Afghanistan. Additionally, we have covered the cooperation, and pace of integration across Eurasia in response to economic war actions taken against Russia. 

Now, intriguingly enough, Armstrong Economics reports that Israel announced that it will add the Chinese Yuan to its portfolio of reserve currencies. According to Armstrong: 

“It is curious that the United States’ closest ally in the Middle East, Israel, which pours dollars into the finances of the Jewish state on an annual basis, has realized that there is a risk to having only dollars and euros. Economically, Israel appears to have been awakened to the reality that the Neocons have divided the world economy and the sanctions on Russia will NEVER be removed, resulting in the total destruction of the world economy and the end of globalization. Including the yuan in their reserve currency portfolio is an acknowledgment that the Biden Administration has in fact destroyed the world economy as we have known it.” 

It is not only an economic war, it is also a currency/money war. China and Saudi Arabia are exploring the use of a Petro Yuan for Chinese oil purchases, in the past week it was also reported that natural gas supplies to Poland will be shut down, because the country refuses to pay in Rubles, which is now gold backed, by the way! 

Martin Armstrong continues, “The Chinese yuan in Israel’s reserves at the central bank is just the beginning of a major change in the monetary distribution of its reserves since the collapse of Bretton Woods. Israel added the Chinese yuan, along with other currencies creating a natural hedge. Their reserves include the US dollar, the euro, and the British pound but will also include the Canadian and Australian dollars, the Japanese yen, and the Chinese yuan. The Israel Monetary Commission has added the pound and yen, which will represent 5%, and the currencies of Canada and Australia will have 3.5% each. The yuan will be set at 2% of the portfolio. This shift has resulted in the decline of the euro’s share falling to 20%, declining from 30%+, while the dollar is declining to 61% from 66.5%. While the headlines talk about the dollar declining, they generally do not reporting the most drastic decline was in the euro which was over 33%. The British pound weight, on the other hand, almost doubled to 5%, returning to the level it last saw in 2011.”

Food Wars

Let’s have a look at how Awaken with JP, on Rumble, reflects on what is happening with food shortages, avian flu, and food processing plants going up in flames in the USA. 

https://rumble.com/v12xq50-theyre-causing-food-shortages.html

Links: 

Tehran Times. 2022. Chinese defense minister to visit Iran on Wednesday. 26 April, 2022. https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/472115/Chinese-defense-minister-to-visit-Iran-on-Wednesday 

The New Arab. 2022. Iran, China agree to step up military cooperation. 28 April, 2022. https://english.alaraby.co.uk/news/iran-china-agree-step-military-cooperation 

Awaken with JP. 2022. They’re causing food shortages?! https://rumble.com/v12xq50-theyre-causing-food-shortages.html 

dasinsider. 2022. Iran defines relations with China. 27 April, 2022. (Das)insider. https://dasinsider.com/iran-defines-relations-with-china 

Gbenga Oduntan. 2018. Donald Trump’s space force: the dangerous militarisation of space. The Conversation, 25 June, 2018, https://theconversation.com/donald-trumps-space-force-the-dangerous-militarisation-of-outer-space-98588#:~:text=Militarised%20space%20America%20has%20hardly%20ever%20disguised%20its,and%20to%20win%20in%20air%2C%20space%20and%20cyberspace. 

Martin Armstrong. 2022. Israel added Yuan to reserve currency portfolio. 25 April, 2022, https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/international-news/middle_east/israel-add-yuan-to-reserve-currency-portfolio/ 

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