Head of the Iranian Geopolitical Association Hadi Azami told IRNA on Saturday that China has started rivalries in recent decades, which can play a good role in promoting multilateralism in the geopolitical system that is dominating the world.

The professor of geopolitics at Ferdowsi University in Mashhad, Khorasan Razavi province, noted that China put forward a geopolitical perspective in 2013 and based on the approach, the country will be connected to the Middle East, Europe and Africa, and that the new Silk Road project involves around 67 countries.

Beijing gives a great amount of loans to different countries, he said, warning that the repayment may be hard for them and make them dependent on China.

However, he noted, China unlike the West pursues a different kind of globalization, which makes many countries dependent on the super-project knowingly or unknowingly.

Now that the Chinese urge Iran to play a role in the One Belt One Road project, the Iranian Government should use the strategic situation of the Islamic country intelligently and gain good concessions, the academic said, adding that China wants to secure its own interests, but Iran and other states can use the opportunity to pursue a win-win balance.

Given the fact that Iran has been under US pressure to be isolated, the Iran–China 25-year Cooperation Program seems to be a proper leverage to help the Islamic Republic get rid of sanctions, he argued.

Azami also noted that Tehran should resort to a kind of rivalry at international arena in order to turn Iran into the center of global interactions; therefore, it needs to avoid putting all eggs in one basket.

The shift of power from the West to the East or in other word, turning the world into an Asia-centered one, is obvious; so, the European states are concerned that they might lag behind especially in energy, tourism, dam-building and other economic sectors, he said.

The Iran-China agreement can help strengthen the Chinese hegemony; thus, the cooperation seems to be in contradiction to the interests of the US and Europe, because they know the deal can bolster Iran’s geopolitical power and help the Islamic country to play a more active role in the region, he added.

Mehrdad Veiskarami, representative of the people of Khorramabad and Chegni in Iranian parliament, underlined that the US wants to prevent all countries from having independence; so, the Islamic Republic should find a way to dodge the hegemony and the cooperation with China, which is considered a world economic power, is an appropriate way to pursue such a goal.

Veiskarami also emphasized that Iran will follow up its policies when it comes to bilateral ties and maintaining independence, adding that rumors on handing over some parts of Iran to China are completely baseless.

The 25-year agreement with China has prompted the European states to express readiness to sign a memorandum of understanding with Iran to expand mutual economic and trade ties, he stipulated.

The Iran–China 25-year Cooperation Program is a strategic document to prepare the ground for utilizing capacities of both countries in a bid to boost long-term cooperation in economic and cultural areas.