海角大神

China gave a low-key welcome to Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as he visited the Shanghai Expo on Friday, just days after Beijing voted for a fourth round of United Nations sanctions designed to curb Iran鈥檚 nuclear program.

Officials here have insisted repeatedly in recent days that no senior government leader would meet Mr. Ahmadinejad, who inspected the Iranian pavilion at the Expo.

China鈥檚 vote in favor of sanctions have put fresh strains on its traditionally friendly relations with Tehran. Iran鈥檚 top nuclear official lashed out at Beijing Thursday, warning that 鈥淐hina is gradually losing its respectable position in the Islamic world.鈥� But Ahmadinejad was polite in Shanghai.

IN PICTURES: Shanghai World Expo 2010 at night

"We have very good relations with China and we have no reason to weaken our relations with China.... The problem is the United States," said Ahmadinejad, who said Security Council countries had been subject to pressure and intimidation, according to the Associated Press.

China's delicate dance in the Mideast

The sanctions vote was another step in China鈥檚 delicate dance to strike a balance between its various political and economic interests in the Middle East, analysts here say.

China is a big customer for Iranian oil and a major investor in Iran鈥檚 energy sector, but Beijing is anxious not to alienate Tehran鈥檚 rivals in the Arab world. However, policymakers here had also feared a Chinese veto of the Western-backed sanctions resolution would have added another irritant to relations with Washington.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang tried to placate Iran after the UN Security Council meeting, saying, 鈥淐hina attaches great importance to relations with Iran鈥� and adding that 鈥渂ilateral ties are not only in the interests of both nations, but also in the interests of regional peace, stability, and development.鈥�

Why China, a friend of Iran, doesn't want it to get the bomb

Chinese experts on the Middle East say their government鈥檚 overriding priority in the Middle East is to stay friends with as many countries as possible and to ensure stability.

鈥淪tability for the United States means a kind of order and good governance,鈥� suggests Jin Liangxiang, a Middle East researcher at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies. 鈥淔or China, it means a necessary environment for secure and stable energy supplies.鈥�

China objects to Iran鈥檚 suspected nuclear weapons program not just because Beijing is opposed to nuclear proliferation, but because it threatens an arms race, says Yin Gang, an analyst with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

鈥淚f Iran had a nuclear deterrent, other countries in the region would seek a new balance and seek to follow suit," says Professor Yin. 鈥淚ran cannot be allowed to have its own bomb or there would be a big war in the Middle East.鈥�

Though China agreed in 1992 to build a nuclear reactor for Tehran, it canceled the deal a few years later under US and Israeli pressure. 鈥淲e were the first to be cautious about Iran鈥檚 nuclear program,鈥� Yin points out, while Russia went ahead with the Bushehr reactor.

Sanctions don't bar China from buying Iran oil

At the same time, Chinese diplomats ensured that Wednesday鈥檚 UN resolution did not restrict foreign investment in Iran鈥檚 oil and gas industry, as Western nations had originally proposed. Oil exports are the for Iran's government.

Beijing argued that the sanctions should focus on the target of international concerns 鈥� Iran鈥檚 nuclear program 鈥� and worried that damage to Iran鈥檚 energy sector would hurt the economy in ways that would make ordinary Iranians suffer.

They appeared to have more self-interested motives, too. Besides importing 11 percent of its oil from Iran in 2009, China is the largest foreign investor in Iran鈥檚 oil and gas fields, partly filling a vacuum left by Western firms.

US oil companies are forbidden by US law to invest in Iran, and European firms such as Norway鈥檚 Statoil and Italy鈥檚 ENI 鈥渁re lukewarm because of political pressure鈥� from their governments says Valerie Marcel, an energy analyst with the London-based Chatham House think tank.

Why Iran appreciates China's business

China鈥檚 continued willingness to develop new fields 鈥渋s a symbolic show of support of great significance,鈥� says Dr. Marcel. When under US pressure Japan backed off a deal to explore Yadavaran, one of Iran鈥檚 largest oil fields, in 2007, 鈥淚ran was very relieved鈥� that the largest Chinese state-owned company, Sinopec, stepped in to the deal," she says.

Another state-owned giant, China National Petroleum Corp., took over the lead in a $4.7 billion deal to develop the South Pars field earlier this year after the French firm Total dragged its feet in negotiations.

These government-to-government deals, however, are subject to approval by the Chinese authorities, who may yet get cold feet, suggests Yin, with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

鈥淭he government has restrained investment in Iran鈥檚 oil industry for fear that if we are the only country investing during sanctions, it might damage our international image and our reputation among Arab countries,鈥� he says. 鈥淐hina will undoubtedly have to pay closer and closer attention to the risks attached to investment in Iran鈥檚 energy sector.鈥�

Related:

• Tehran defiant as UN passes tough Iran nuclear sanctions
• As sanctions loom, is Iran sending peace signals to the US?
• Full China news coverage

IN PICTURES: Shanghai World Expo 2010 at night