Alice Han

Now, Iran is rejecting Trump's 15-point plan, and there may be escalation in the coming days where Trump is going to put troops on the ground, starting in Karg Island, to open the strait on American terms.

But I think China's strategy, to your point, James, is to disassociate the U.S.-China trade talks and relationship from the Iran issue, and then be seen by both the Gulf states, but even the G7 countries as being a key diplomatic, honest broker.

Because remember, it's not just the relationship with Tehran that's at play.

It's also the relationship with the Gulf states that have been key suppliers of oil and natural gas to China.

And China wants to be on good terms with the Saudi Arabias of the world.

So I think that, you know, moving forward, we'll have to see how involved Beijing is in the talks.

I take your point, James, that Iran is not Russia.

And the question back to you is, why is it that China has invested so much in the Russia relationship?

She personally has invested a lot in the relationship with Putin.

I don't think that same sentiment is shared with the Iranians, for instance.

But I agree with you, James, that Iran is seen as a key player

strategic partner and foothold for China within the region.

Iran also creates more conflict and difficulties for America and the Middle East.

So in this respect, it is somewhat like a client state for China.

But moving forward, we'll have to see what happens with the new Ayatollah, what kind of a relationship we're going to have between Tehran and Beijing.

To date, we haven't seen any Chinese direct or indirect

financial or military aid to the Iranian regime.

I think before the conflict started, we saw a change in the navigation systems used by the Iranians.

They now use the Chinese Beidou satellite navigation system.

There was word on the street that the Americans, before they started striking, were trying to take down some of the system and infiltrate it.