ABSTRACT
China's "One Belt, One Road" (OBOR) initiative is rapidly taking shape. The China Development Bank (CDB) announced that it would invest a mammoth $890 billion in 900 OBOR-related projects in over 60 countries – including a high-speed railway from Xinjiang Province in Northwestern China to Tehran. In the early 2000s, Chinese state enterprises became active in Iran's gas industry as well. In December 2006, China's biggest offshore oil producer, China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) signed a $16-billion natural gas deal to develop the North Pars gas field and construct liquified natural gas (LNG) facilities for exporting gas to China. During the sanctions period, China was Tehran's critical lifeline. Indeed, Iran came to depend on China not just as the leading destination for its oil exports, but increasingly for critical diplomatic, economic, and technological support. Many of Iran's most ambitious projects in recent decades were carried out under the period of heaviest sanctions – with Chinese partners.
