00:00Trump is pressuring China to help him win the Iran war and China is uniquely positioned to help do
00:07that. It buys roughly 91% of Iran's oil exports, making it the only country with real financial
00:13leverage over Iraq. There actually is a growing risk of boots on the ground, of a US operation
00:19to eliminate Iranian miners that are posing a risk to the Strait of Hormuz. That could happen.
00:25And what was clear from the Chinese foreign minister's press conference back on March 8th
00:30is that China doesn't want to get involved. The Chinese are playing a wait and see game. They,
00:34I think, benefit if this becomes a more prolonged conflict from the US being bogged down in the
00:39Middle East. The Chinese believe that this could push the Gulf countries closer towards Beijing
00:44because the Gulf countries are very upset with what has been happening in terms of the US and
00:50Israelis mismanagement from their perspective of the Iran issue. Do they have the power and the
00:54leverage over Iran? A hundred percent, yes. China imports around 15% of its oil prior to this from
01:00Iran. So this is an asymmetric relationship in which the Iranians are highly reliant. China is in the
01:06advantage seat. Iran will put China at the top of the list as it starts to open up the Strait.
01:11That
01:11immediately reduces China's strategic incentive to help the Americans.
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