Merkel urges China to exert influence on Iran

Merkel is expected to make the case for tighter sanctions on Iran, originally proposed by the United States and designed to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons. She said she has already had “long discussions” with President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao on Iran sanctions.

“If we talk about the European sanctions against Iran, the question is how China can make better use of its influence to make Iran understand that the world must not have another power with nuclear weapons,” Merkel told an audience at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Merkel's China visit illustrates the delicate nature of EU-China relations, where Europe pushes China to sacrifice its commercial interests to help on Iran while at the same time asking for its help in resolving a worsening debt crisis.

Indeed, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao appeared to reject the pressure to do more on Iran, telling journalists later in the day that China objected to Western nations politicizing the “normal commercial relationship” it has with the Islamic Republic, echoing language China has used before.

Wen also said that China was considering greater involvement in the stability funds that have been set up to help pull Europe out of its deepening debt crisis.

China, with its US$3.2 trillion worth foreign exchange reserves, is often seen as a potential source for the funds that are needed to bail out some European governments.

Reluctant on Iran

Merkel said she hoped the U.N. Security Council could pass a unanimous resolution on the Iran issue.

The United States imposed the harshest sanctions on Iran when President Barack Obama, on Dec. 31, signed into law sanctions on transactions involving Iran's central bank.

The European Union last week imposed a ban on the import, purchase or transport of Iranian oil.

China has long refused to support sanctions on Iran, although Wen Jiabao said last month that Beijing “adamantly opposes” Iran developing nuclear weapons.

China has much to lose by cutting back on Iranian oil purchases. Beijing imports 11 percent of its crude from the Islamic Republic, its third biggest supplier.

Merkel could urge Beijing to further cut its crude imports from Iran, a German source said earlier, but that is likely to go unheeded. Turning away that oil would mean paying a higher price to get it from another supplier.

“China opposes the use of nuclear energy for proliferation but believes it is possible to use it for peaceful purposes,” said Li Xiangang, an former Chinese diplomat in Tehran who is now at the China Institute of International Studies.

A Call for Open Markets

Merkel also pressed China to improve protection of intellectual property rights, calling on it to ensure that German businesses had reciprocal access to its markets.

That concern will likely be repeated when she travels to Guangzhou in southern China on Friday for a business summit. Merkel is accompanied by a number of German CEOs, who during a similar summit two years ago also pressed for more market access.

On Thursday, she toured an ancient alley in Beijing that is now home to shops and restaurants, one of the few to survive the razing of the centuries-old capital to build shopping malls and office blocks.

Subscribe to The China Post and save 25%. Click here

PrintEmail

Write a Comment

Terms

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

Submit

 Receive China Post promos
 Respond to this email