&w=3840&q=100)
Chinese nationals flee Iran by land as Israel conflict escalates
Several thousand Chinese nationals are thought to reside in oil-rich Iran, according to state media reports, highlighting Beijing's efforts to deepen strategic and commercial ties with Iran over the past two decades.
"My heart was pounding but amid the haze of war, everything became clear: I packed my bags and tried to evacuate to the embassy," wrote a Chinese travel blogger under the alias Shuishui Crusoe, a nod to Daniel Defoe's fictional castaway, Robinson Crusoe.
The travel blogger had decided to leave after sitting through Israel's overnight bombings last Friday when the conflict began, even as the embassy advised her to stay put.
Emboldened by news of fellow citizens who made it across to Armenia, 750 km (500 miles) from the Iranian capital Tehran, she chose the same route, arriving by bus in the Armenian capital Yerevan on Monday, a day before China's embassy officially urged its citizens to leave Iran.
China started evacuating its citizens from Tehran to Turkmenistan by bus on Tuesday, a distance of 1,150 km, state-run China News Service reported Wednesday.
Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for China's foreign ministry, said Beijing had not received any reports of Chinese casualties.
"Seven hundred and ninety-one Chinese nationals have already been relocated from Iran to safe areas, and over 1,000 more are in the process of being evacuated," he told a regular news conference.
While the embassy emphasised evacuation, some other Chinese netizens still in Iran shared video compilations showing an orderly scenario of well-stocked grocery shops and fruit stalls, with only a couple of clips of large purchases of bottled water.
Most Chinese in Iran are engineers who moved there to work for Chinese firms that have invested just under $5 billion in the country since 2007 - primarily in its oil sector - according to data from the American Enterprise Institute think tank.
If the regime in Tehran is severely weakened or replaced, Beijing loses a key diplomatic foothold in a region long dominated by the U.S. but vital to President Xi Jinping's flagship Belt and Road initiative and its aim to link the world's second-largest economy with Europe and the Gulf.
China, the world's leading energy consumer, has also benefited from importing heavily discounted Iranian crude, despite Washington's sanctions aimed at curbing the trade.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to meet PM Modi during 2-day India visit
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his two-day visit to India beginning Monday (August 18, 2025), according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). The meeting, to be held on Tuesday (August 19, 2025), assumes significance as it is taking place days before Mr. Modi's planned trip to China to attend the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Before calling on the Prime Minister, Mr. Wang will hold separate talks with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval that could see both sides deliberate on a range of key issues including border situation, trade and resumption of flight services. The Chinese Foreign Minister's visit is largely seen as part of ongoing efforts by the two neighbours to rebuild their relationship after it came under severe strain following the deadly Galwan Valley clashes in 2020. The two sides are expected to discuss new confidence-building measures for durable peace and tranquillity along their contested border during Mr. Wang's visit, people familiar with the matter said on Sunday (August 17, 2025). Mr. Wang's trip is also seen as important as it comes amid increasing tensions in India-US relations following President Donald Trump doubling tariffs on Indian goods to 50% that included an additional penalty of 25% for purchasing Russian crude oil. According to details released by the MEA, the Chinese Foreign Minister will land in New Delhi at around 4:15 p.m. on Monday (August 18, 2025). He will meet Jaishankar for bilateral talks at around 6 p.m. Mr. Wang and NSA Doval are scheduled to hold a new edition of Special Representatives (SR) dialogue on the boundary question at 11 a.m. on Tuesday (August 19, 2025). According to the MEA, Mr. Wang will call on PM Modi at his 7 Lok Kalyan Marg residence at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday (August 19, 2025). The Chinese Foreign Minister will be in India primarily to hold the 24th round of SR dialogue with NSA Doval. Mr. Wang and Mr. Doval are the designated special representatives for the boundary talks. Both sides are expected to deliberate on new confidence-building measures besides reviewing the overall situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the people cited above said. Though the two sides disengaged troops from the friction points, they are yet to de-escalate the situation by pulling back the frontline forces from the border. Each side currently has around 50,000 to 60,000 troops along the LAC in the eastern Ladakh region. The Chinese Foreign Minister will also meet External Affairs Minister Jaishankar. It is learnt that the two sides will also use the opportunity to lay the ground for Prime Minister Modi's visit to China to attend the annual summit of the SCO to be held on August 31 and September 1. As per the plan, the Prime Minister will embark on a visit to Japan around August 29 and after concluding the trip, he will travel to the northern Chinese city of Tianjin for the SCO summit. PM Modi's visit to China is being planned amid efforts by the two sides to repair their bilateral ties which came under severe strain following the deadly clashes between Indian and Chinese troops in Galwan Valley in June 2020. NSA Doval travelled to China in December last and held the SR talks with Mr. Wang, weeks after Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping decided to revive various dialogue mechanisms between the two sides at a meeting in the Russian city of Kazan. The military standoff in eastern Ladakh began in May 2020 and the clashes at the Galwan Valley in June that year resulted in a severe strain in bilateral ties. The face-off effectively ended following completion of the disengagement process from the last two friction points of Demchok and Depsang under an agreement finalised on October 21 last year. The decision to revive various dialogue mechanisms was taken at a meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi in Kazan on October 23, 2024. The Modi-Xi meeting came two days after India and China firmed up a disengagement pact for Depsang and Demchok. The two sides also initiated a number of initiatives to rebuild the ties that included resumption of Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and New Delhi restarting issuance of tourist visas to Chinese nationals. Both sides are also discussing modalities to resume direct flight services between the two countries. The flight services between the two sides were suspended following the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. It was not restored in view of the border row. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister Jaishankar visited China in the last two months to attend SCO meetings. China is the current chair of the SCO.
Mint
an hour ago
- Mint
Commerce Ministry recommends safeguard duty on flat steel imports for three years: All you need to know
The Commerce Ministry's Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) arm, has recommended imposition of safeguard duties for three years on imports of some flat steel products, in order to protect domestic manufacturers, PTI reported on August 17. This comes after a probe based on a complaint by the Indian Steel Association (ISA), amid concerns over the sudden increase in inbound shipment of such products and consequent impact on domestic players, it added. The DGTR said that taking into account the current serious injury to the domestic industry, and the imminent threat of injury due to the imports of subject goods, the fair selling price and, considering competing interest of all stakeholders, the authority recommends imposition of the duty on certain steel products. Notably, in April, the government had already imposed a 200-day provisional 12 per cent safeguard duty, based on the preliminary findings of the DGTR probe, the report noted. Now, in the notification of its final report, the DGTR concluded there 'is a recent, sudden, sharp and significant increase in imports' of such products that could 'at the cumulative level as a result of unforeseen developments ... and threaten to cause serious injury to the domestic industry'. A 12 per cent safeguard duty in the first year, A 11.5 per cent safeguard duty in the second year, and A 11 per cent safeguard duty in the third year. The ISA on behalf of its members including ArcelorMittal, Nippon Steel India, JSW Steel, Jindal Steel and Power and Steel Authority of India filed an application seeking imposition of safeguard duty on imports of non-alloy and alloy steel flat products. The applicant alleged that there was a sudden, sharp and significant increase in the volume of imports, which caused serious injury to the domestic industry in India, as per the report. The applicant also stated that imports took place in such increased quantities and under such circumstances that cause and threaten to cause serious injury to the domestic industry. Meanwhile, industry think tank, GTRI said that the safeguard duties on a wide range of steel imports, were imposed after rejecting submissions from over 250 stakeholders, including major automakers and electronics firms. It said that the probe, launched in December 2024, covered hot-rolled and cold-rolled products, metallic and colour-coated steel. Chinese exports of these items rose to 110.7 million tonnes in 2024, up 25 per cent over 2023, much of it redirected to India, GTRI said. 'GTRI opposed the move, warning it (imposition of final safeguard duty) would raise input costs, hurt export competitiveness, and squeeze downstream users,' the think tank's founder Ajay Srivastava said. GTRI argued imports were predictable, not 'sudden'; that domestic injury was overstated; and that duties would cripple auto, engineering, and construction sectors, he said.
Hans India
2 hours ago
- Hans India
Ageing population, high debt seen as drags on China's growth ahead
China is expected to face an adverse economic impact in the coming decades due to its ageing population and high government debt, according to reports. High government debt raises interest costs and leaves less fiscal room to respond to shocks, just as ageing populations push up pension and health outlays, according to a report in Newsweek. The Chinese and US governments are among the most indebted in the world. The US government's gross debt at 123 per cent is equal to the country's GDP, according to International Monetary Fund data. China's stands at 84 per cent, buoyed by debt-driven growth in the 2010s and a housing market crunch that has heavily indebted local governments. London-based global advisory firm Oxford Economics estimates the Chinese economy's potential growth could be cut roughly in half by the 2050s. According to the Newsweek report: "Soaring pension and healthcare expenses are the biggest policy challenge of the 2020s in all advanced economies and most emerging ones." As per a United Nations report, China currently has a median age of around 40, which is well above the global average, and is projected to reach 52 by 2050. This would be much higher than even the US median age, which is expected to stay around 41 years. China's old-age dependency ratio, or the share of people aged 65 and older, is projected to rise by more than 50 percentage points by 2026 compared to 2010, versus roughly 8-10 points in the United States. This will strain China's modest safety net. And unless the country is able to reverse its flagging birth rate, this will shift the burden onto a smaller pool of workers, according to the report in Newsweek. Jed Cartledge, an economist and one of the authors of the Oxford Economics report, said this better positions the US demographically. China's fertility rate of 1.2 births expected per woman is among the world's lowest. While higher, the US rate of 1.6 births remains well below the rate of 2.1 necessary to sustain a population naturally. Cartledge pointed out, however, that historically, immigration has largely offset declining births and averted demographic problems in the U.S. "Admittedly, US immigration is taking a hit under the second Trump presidency, but we're expecting the reduction in net immigration to only last through the remainder of his second term before reverting to a 1.1 million per annum, which was the typical pace prior to the pandemic," Cartledge told Newsweek.
