On January 15th, 2011, a cargo ship cruises towards the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Kasab, Oman.
Marwan Naamani | AFP | Getty Images
BEIJING – The recent flare-up in Middle Eastern tensions has not stopped China’s business optimism about opportunities in the region.
China’s freight to Dubai’s logistics hub has risen 20% from this month as locals stock up on batteries and daily essentials. Estimates from Bear Huo, China’s general manager at FundPark, is a fintech startup that lends money to small Chinese businesses selling overseas via internet platforms.
“Overall, Chinese merchants are relatively optimistic,” he said in Mandarin on Monday, according to a CNBC translation. It is due to the relatively recent rise of the Middle East as a rapidly growing market, he added.
Amidst trade tensions with the US, Chinese companies have been increasingly transformed into the region in recent years, whether they raise funds from local investors or tap on a new market for electric vehicles. On the geopolitical side, Beijing helped Riyadh and Tehran recover diplomatic relations in 2023.
Huo’s view is that tensions between Iran and Israel will end relatively quickly, given that even US strikes target specific strategic sites. And because fighting does not spread along the border, like the introduction of conflicts between Russia and Ukraine.
Nevertheless, the risk remains rising as Dubai port is soon over Iran’s Strait of Hormuz.
The ship is moving more slowly and there are fewer flights, Huo said. He said he didn’t know where the Chinese seller’s products would go after he arrived in Dubai, adding that the company had no direct business with Iran due to sanctions.
China’s foreign ministry said the US “strongly condemns” the attack on Iran over the weekend, but urged all involved parties to “reach a ceasefire as soon as possible.”
China’s trade with Iran has fallen sharply over the past two years, according to customs data accessed via wind information. US-approved crude oil exporters rely heavily on purchasing in Beijing.
“A more stable Middle East serves China’s economic and strategic interests,” said Yue Su, principal economist based in Beijing, China, of the Economist Intelligence Unit.
“Beijing will be interested in positioning itself as a constructive force that can contribute to global stability,” she said. She noted that Chinese companies will likely interact with Iran carefully given concern over the possibility of secondary sanctions.
The provincial news broadcaster CCTV aired an interview with Chinese citizens on Sunday, thanking Beijing for their efforts to evacuate them from Iran.
There are harsh warnings for US citizens traveling to Iran, but Chinese people were able to visit Iran for three weeks without a visa for tourism and business. Most Chinese citizens in Iran have been evacuated, the Chinese embassy in Iran said on Monday.
In an even more optimistic memo, if the latest escalation will bring relief in US sanctions in Iran, tens of thousands of Chinese companies will likely rush to build tourism, real estate and overall infrastructure into the Middle Eastern country, said Qin Gang, the founder of the consultant who translates as the Ode & Song Cultural industry.
He said he visited five Iranian cities in 2013 at an invitation from Iranian Airlines.
