About this Episode
In this second episode of Dragon Road, host Arif Rafiq speaks to Dr. Bill Figueroa to help unpack the recently inked deal between China and Iran, placing it in the broader context of Sino-Iranian relations through the decades, and the political economies of both countries. Dr. Figueroa busts some myths about the deal’s purported monetary value and as a manifestation of the China-US rivalry. He also answers the fundamental question of whether the agreement will lead to a closer relationship between China and Iran in the form of an alliance.
About the Guest
Dr. Bill Figueroa is an expert on historical and contemporary Sino-Iranian relations. He recently graduated from the PhD History program at the University of Pennsylvania. In addition to his dissertation, titled “China and the Iranian Left: Transnational Networks of Social, Cultural, and Ideological Exchange, 1905-1979”, Dr. Figueroa writes on Sino-Iranian relations in various publications and news media outlets. He tweets at @IranChinaGuy.
Publications by the Guest
- A Fact Check of the 25-Year Iran China Agreement
- A “$400 billion” China-Iran Deal? The View from History
- China-Iran Relations: The Myth of Massive Investment
- Sino-Persian Exchange Along the Silk Road
- Can China’s Israel-Palestine Peace Plan Work?
- Why China’s offer to broker a Middle East peace is a bit superficial and self-serving
A Non-Resident Fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington, DC and president of Vizier Consulting, LLC, a political risk advisory firm focused on the Middle East and South Asia.
