Beijing’s Response to US–Israel Strikes on Iran Reveals Its Military and Energy-Driven Motives: Experts
Udumbara
.
The joint U.S.–Israel military strikes on Iran on Feb. 28 sent shock waves through the Chinese regime, which has shown a carefully calibrated but revealing response.
China’s Foreign Ministry initially expressed “grave concern” over the U.S.–Israel action in a brief statement on Feb. 28 and called for an immediate stop to the military operations.
The next day, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the military strikes on Iran were a “blatant killing of the leader of a sovereign nation” and added that the “incitement of regime change” was unacceptable.
Two days later, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry criticized the United States and Israel for launching the military strikes, adding that China would “uphold justice,” “play a constructive role,” and “stop the war.”
China experts said these carefully crafted CCP talking points were designed to obscure its real economic and military goals in the Middle East and across the Taiwan Strait.
Mu Yang, a researcher on China–U.S. relations, who used a pseudonym out of fear of retaliation from Beijing, told The Epoch Times the recent statements by the Chinese Foreign Ministry were not about justice, but rather were a calculated political maneuver.
Beijing Views Iran War as Taiwan Rehearsal: Expert
Beijing has been monitoring the military deployments of the United States and Israel and the Middle East development, and its purpose is to study U.S. military tactics and identify potential vulnerabilities for future contingencies—especially in the Taiwan Strait, according to Li Yuan, a researcher on China affairs who also used a pseudonym out of fear of reprisal.The researcher said Beijing continues to see the United States as the biggest obstacle to its global expansion and views the Iran war as a rehearsal for a possible Taiwan Strait war.
“China is intensely focused on how the U.S. and Israel executed these operations,“ Li told The Epoch Times. ”It is collecting battlefield data and operational patterns, hoping to find exploitable gaps for any future confrontation with the United States [in the Taiwan Strait].
“While China’s overall military power is still far from matching the U.S. head-on, Beijing seeks to create a strategic standoff in the Taiwan Strait by leveraging its geographical proximity,” he said.
However, Beijing studying the Iran war for strategic insight is likely to lead to miscalculation, according to Li, as the geopolitical scenario in the Taiwan Strait and nearby region is different. Around Taiwan, the United States has strong allies, including Japan.
China’s Iran Oil Stakes and US Relations
Beijing’s carefully calculated diplomatic response reflects the CCP’s real motives: It seeks to maintain its supply of discounted oil from Iran, while maintaining its trade relationship with the United States, another analyst says.Based on China’s record 11.6 million barrels per day in total crude imports in 2025, Iranian barrels would amount to roughly 12 percent of the total.
“Beijing’s real calculation is clear,” Tang said, describing the CCP’s relationship with Iran as “classic opportunism.”
“It wants to keep cheap crude flowing uninterrupted while hoping Middle East crises distract U.S. strategic attention. In the face of hundreds of billions of dollars in annual oil trade, the ‘justice’ Beijing preaches is largely diplomatic packaging for its own interests,” he said.
Mu added that Beijing’s response also reflects a deeper contradiction. Beijing wants to score political points by criticizing the United States in the Middle East, while avoiding a complete rupture with Washington.
“Such a reaction is a finely tuned balancing act between anti-U.S. posturing and preserving ties with the U.S.,” Mu said.
