President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing this week hoping China could help contain the escalating U.S.-Iran crisis, but the summit underscored how limited Beijing's influence over Tehran actually is.

In Washington, many policymakers assume China can pressure Iran because it buys the vast majority of Iranian oil. But the reality is far more complicated, and there is little evidence the Iranian leadership would make major national security concessions at Beijing's request.

William Figueroa, a leading Iran-China scholar at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, joins Eric to unpack what U.S. officials misunderstand about China's relationship with Iran, why Beijing is reluctant to use its economic leverage aggressively, and how China itself is vulnerable to the broader economic fallout from the war.

📌 Topics Covered in this Episode

• Why Trump wanted China's help on Iran
• The limits of China's leverage over Tehran
• How Iran views Beijing and Washington differently
• Why oil is only part of China's concern
• The economic risks of a prolonged war
• What the Trump-Xi summit revealed about global power dynamics

Show Notes:

• The China-Global South Project: China and the Iran War: The Logic and Limitations of China's Middle East Diplomacy by William Figuerora
• The China-Global South Project: Through Allegory, China Uses AI to Shape Its Narrative of the Iran Conflict by William Figuerora
• The China-Global South Project: Social Media Commentators Are Misreading the China Angle in the U.S.–Israeli War With Iran by William Figuerora

Join the Discussion:

X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth

Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social

Follow CGSP in French and Spanish:

• French: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine
• Spanish: www.chinalasamericas.com | @ChinaAmericas

Join us on Patreon!
Become a CGSP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CGSP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth