China needs to go one step further on Iran

Sometimes China makes sense in its diplomatic pronouncements, but usually they prefer a bland, waffling approach that basically cedes decisions to the US and its proxies.

As in Libya, where it had negotiated extensive business deals, only to have NATO come in and tear up all the contracts in order to pass them along to its own multinationals, we see the Chinese position themselves for a similar humiliation regarding Iran, which is under threat of attack by Israel and the US:

China urges Iran flexibility, but opposes force - CNN.com: "China's stance is an important element in the diplomatic focus on the nuclear issue because of China's permanent U.N. Security Council membership. Even though China has supported some sanctions on Iran over the years, Beijing and Russia have not been as hard-line toward the Islamic republic as the other members of the Security Council -- the United States, Britain and France.
Hong said disagreements with Iran should be resolved through "dialogue and cooperation," Xinhua reported.
"The IAEA should positively clarify relevant problems by cooperating with Iran in an impartial and objective manner" and "Iran should be flexible and sincere when cooperating with the IAEA," Xinhua reported, citing Hong.
China warns against the use of force but will promote "dialogue and cooperation and play a constructive role" in dealing with the Iranian nuclear issue."

It's all very nice to tell the international community to act nice and get along, but these exhortations by China are taken as a joke in Tel Aviv and Washington. Despite the extensive commercial ties between Beijing and Tehran, and the considerable interest of China in securing future oil supplies, the regime seems totally lacking in resolve when it comes to defending its interests -- and its friends.

Face it, once the bombs start falling, it's too late for China to assert itself. If China wants to be respected and step up to the next level as a world power, it had better start showing a little more backbone in its dealings with the fading powers in the West. Washington is played out. It is like a body builder full of anabolic steroids -- muscle-bound but dickless. Its economic power is sapped, and all it has is a big arsenal, operated by half-wits and misfits, with which to obtain its will.

Since the US dropped even the pretense of standing for enlightenment values, and instead exports kleptocracy and exploitation globally, there's no point in maintaining the fiction that the international organizations like IAEA are impartial observers of NPT compliance -- the non-proliferation regime is rigged, and is used by non-signatories to pummel those who have abided by it in good faith.

If China wants to be a leader and play a role in maintaining some semblance of global law and order, it's time for Beijing to step up and put their money where their mouths are, and explicitly make it clear that an attack on Iran will be looked upon very unfavorably by China, and at the very least it must make clear that it will never support the US in the UN in any drive to legitimize an aggressive war on the Iranians.

Enough of this pussy-footing around. This is all about oil, and power, and China -- or somebody -- needs to stand up for a more enlightened system of international affairs than the barbaric regime coming out of the US.