Role of New Iran-China Rail Line in Global Order

Date: 31 May 2025 - 22:18

News ID: ۱۴۰۱۷۸

TEHRAN - Missing from the headlines amid the fifth round of indirect talks with the US, a freight train from China rolled into Iran last week at a time of a simmering war of corridors.
The train from the eastern Chinese city of Xian arrived at the Aprin dry port near Tehran with a cargo of solar panels in time for Iran’s compelling push to expand its renewable power capacity.
The event flies in the face of President Donald Trump’s administration which Reuters has said – whether truly or falsely - is considering stopping and inspecting Iranian oil tankers at sea.
With the rail line far from any American military presence, Iran can export oil and import goods from China with the ease of mind if the sea trade is disrupted.
Ninety percent of Iran’s exports to China are oil-based products such as petrochemicals, petroleum products and gases, or mining-based products such as copper concentrate, iron concentrate, and the like.
While these goods are difficult to transport on rail and must be transported by ship, the rail route offers a vital way to keep bilateral trade from the tentacles of U.S. hegemony.
Trump has vowed to restore a “maximum pressure” campaign to isolate Iran from the global economy and drive its oil exports to zero.
The rail route also shortens the delivery times for goods to 15 days, compared to 30 days via the maritime route and helps China evade the Malacca Strait chokepoint.
The strait is a narrow waterway where a significant portion of China’s crude oil imports from West Asia and Africa pass through. But with the Red Sea having turned into a battle zone between Yemen’s resistance forces on one side and Israel and its allies on the other, shipping costs have jumped 250%, according to BBC, and transit has declined by 70 percent.
The East-West Corridor linking China to Iran, the Persian Gulf littoral states, Africa and ultimately Europe presents one of the most secure trade routes currently in play.
On May 12, railway officials from Iran, China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Turkey met in Tehran to advance a transcontinental rail network linking Asia to Europe.
The six nations agreed on competitive tariffs and operational standards to streamline regional rail services and boost trade connectivity.
China and Iran have expanded trade and economic relations in recent years. Both countries share a strategic view to counter U.S. global hegemony, having faced sanctions and other pressures from the American side.
Iran is part of China’s One Belt One Road (BRI) initiative, which seeks to re-establish overland trade routes once known as the Silk Road.
The rail link integrates Iran into the trillion-dollar BRI and lays the groundwork for deeper political and economic ties. Its genesis lies in a historic 25-year economic cooperation agreement worth $400 billion which they signed in 2021.
The successful implementation of the rail project demonstrates the strength and potential of Iran’s logistics infrastructure in attracting international cargo.
It can serve as a model for developing and strengthening international trade routes and a successful example of regional and international economic integration.
It advantages over some competing corridors such as the trans-Caspian Middle Corridor which includes China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey will increase Iran’s transit position in the region, facilitate trade and promoting the Islamic Republic’s economy and entrepreneurship.
In general, the implementation of the East-West Corridor plan under the New Silk Road and the North-South Corridor plan via Iran can enhance the country’s position in the new regional order.
In a broader perspective, the China-Iran rail connection project is a strategic alternative to the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) project which aims to turn Israel into a gateway for trade in goods and energy in West Asia.
It starts in India and stretches to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan, before reaching the Israeli occupied territories and reaching Europe through the Mediterranean Sea.
In other words, the Iran-China rail project should be seen in the context of a major corridor war Iran and China with the United States that is set to determine the future of the new world order.
Lying ahead is improving the transport and customs infrastructure along the corridor to help further facilitate trade and the movement of goods.
Also, efforts to increase the number of trains and improve transportation schedules will help strengthen this corridor and create wider trade networks.