علی کاوه

Given China’s growing economic growth and the need to supply energy to industries, as well as access to the consumer market for domestic production, Xi Jinping in 2013 introduced the Silk Road Initiative as his country’s macro strategy. The Persian Gulf region is the “economic center of gravity” of the oil industry, with the world's largest oil fields, the lowest production and about two-thirds of the world’s proven energy reserves. With the continuation and deepening of China-West Asia relations in the field of energy supply, efforts have been made to expand and strengthen diplomatic relations with West Asian countries in the past. Given the growing debate and competition from regional and trans-regional actors for greater benefits in West Asia, China, with its growing economic growth and the need to provide energy for continued economic and trade power, through its macro-initiative strategy. The Silk Road has put the expansion of its presence and influence in West Asia on the agenda.Research Question: what goals does China pursue in West Asia through the Energy Silk Road Initiative?

China seeks to secure its energy through the implementation of the Silk Road Initiative through long-term contracts and investments with West Asian countries.Methodology (and Theoretical Framework if there are): Energy security is a multidimensional concept, and different stakeholders look at it from their own perspectives. Supply, demand, industry and the environment are considered different dimensions of energy security. Today, due to the challenges posed to the threat of energy security to the economic infrastructure of countries, many governments consider self-sufficiency in the field of energy to ensure the continuation of productive economic activities, is inevitable. China, as one of the leading countries in the field of economic growth and development, in order to maintain its economic position, which translates its position in the international system, and considering the emphasis on a multilateral approach in the international system and Replacing the existing order, energy security and non-disruption in its provision has been one of the main axes of foreign policy and inviolable principle in pursuit of national interests, so in this study, the discussion of energy security as one of the main areas of the Silk Road Initiative , Has been considered as a point of reference and a conceptual framework for explaining the goals of the Silk Road Initiative in the field of energy in West Asia.

Following the implementation of the Silk Road Initiative in 2013, China’s economic relationship with West Asia entered a more serious phase. indicating that West Asia currently has high priorities in China’s geostrategic sphere. In its cooperation with West Asian countries, China intends to focus on three areas: the first and most important area, the energy sector, the second area, facilitating investment in infrastructure and trade, and the third area, progress in nuclear energy, space satellite and New energy. China has various methods to ensure its energy security, such as huge investments in the exploration and extraction of oil and gas fields, strengthening of energy infrastructure to improve energy efficiency, participation in oil projects, it has used gas, electricity, renewable energy, nuclear energy, etc. in West Asia in the form of the Silk Road initiative. It should also be acknowledged that China’s growing influence in the West Asian region through strategies such as the Silk Road Initiative, despite its declared policy, is not just about economics, but also about pursuing political and security interests and providing the basis for expanding influence and hegemony. The periphery is at the heart of the plan.

Conflicts and political unrest in the West Asian region are causing panic and disruption in China’s energy supply channels. Its acquisition has shifted to Central Asia's energy resources. It should be noted that despite the fact that Beijing supplies most of its energy resources from West Asia, and continued investment to ensure China's energy security is one of its top foreign policy priorities in West Asia. However, the existing political and security challenges in these countries, the energy transfer route, the US influence in the region, etc. are considered as a threat to China’s energy security. Therefore, within the framework of the Silk Road initiative, Beijing has invested in oil and gas resources of Central Asian countries by concluding long-term contracts and investing in energy infrastructure, as a safety valve and alternative to West Asian energy to benefit. Exercising its economic influence in the region will pave the way for regional hegemony and challenge US unilateralism.

China is one of the main players in Central Asia, which pursues its economic and security goals and interests in that region. China’s energy demand has grown by 500 percent since 1980, with rapid economic growth; As China is now the largest consumer of energy and the largest importer of oil in the world, therefore, Central Asia is one of the priorities of China’s foreign policy, considering its energy resources and the possibility of meeting the needs of China’s growing industries. Given the growing competition between regional and trans-regional actors for greater benefits in Central Asia, China is making a concerted effort to expand, given its industrial energy needs and Xinjiang security concerns. Influencing Central Asia is on the agenda; therefore, the Silk Road initiative, with its large volume of investment and its vision, is an important step towards achieving China’s strategic goals in the international arena. Given the importance and scope of the Silk Road initiative for China and its political, economic, and security implications for Central Asia, this study seeks to answer the question that: How does the Silk Road Initiative help shape China’s hegemony in Central Asia? The hypothesis is that the Silk Road initiative, as China’s most important strategy in the new big game with the United States and Russia, contributes to China’s hegemony in the Central Asian region through economic domination and the expansion of political and security influence. The present article is explanatory in nature and method. The results of the studies are as follows:To meet the needs of growing industries, China has adopted a development-oriented foreign policy approach to reach global consumer markets. China needs the energy to continue economic development and attract foreign investment and therefore energy security and ensuring the continuation of energy flows and reducing vulnerability in this area is one of its foreign policy priorities. On the other hand, ensuring the stability and security of Xinjiang is one of the main security concerns of Chinese leaders which can lead to unrest and create danger for other parts of China. Therefore, to advance its macro foreign policy goals and ambitious regional and international intentions, China introduced the Silk Road Initiative in 2013 as the main axis of its foreign and domestic policy. In this regard, Central Asia has been considered as a strategic hub and one of the regions with rich hydrocarbon resources and territorial proximity to pursue national interests in the Silk Road economic belt strategy.As one of the most important measures to reduce their strategic vulnerability, the Chinese leaders have established closer ties with energy-rich countries, including Central Asian countries, through the Silk Road Initiative. On the other hand, due to the proximity of Xinjiang Autonomous Province to Central Asia and China’s security problems and challenges in this province, Central Asia has played a significant role in China’s security strategy. Therefore, given these considerations, China’s growing presence and influence in the Central Asian geo-economy will gradually translate into geopolitical influence. In Central Asia, China seeks to increase its regional influence by increasing its lasting influence and by launching the Silk Road Initiative, with an emphasis on economic exchanges as the fulcrum of the project, with a view to peaceful development and non-alignment. The stimulation of the powers present in the region has put the achievement of regional hegemony on the agenda.Given the undeniable impact of economic growth and development as a bedrock of national stability and security, strengthening the economic strength and stability of Central Asia is closely linked to addressing China’s security problems and this issue is one of the main axes of the Silk Road initiative. The purpose of this plan is to help develop the countries of Central Asia and the western regions of China to ensure security and political stability in China. Therefore, China’s approach in Central Asia is economic and trade dominance as an important prerequisite for ensuring stability and security in western China. However, China’s emergence as a major power in Central Asia has become an undeniable fact due to its economic dominance, energy interests, and political influence. However, it should be emphasized that increasing China’s influence by using strategies such as the Silk Road Initiative, despite its declared policy, is not merely economic, but pursuing political and security interests and providing necessary grounds for expanding China’s influence and hegemony in the periphery. At the heart of the plan, of course, is China’s denial of this approach in the international arena, given the considerations of peaceful development.To further its interests in the region, China has put on the agenda a comprehensive effort to expand its hegemony in Central Asia; the Silk Road Initiative, with its large investment volume. Its vision is taking important steps toward achieving its strategic goals internationally. Based on the results of the study, China, relies on economic growth and development, to counter the US unilateralism in the international system, to establish regional influence and hegemony by using the capacities of the Silk Road initiative. In this regard, in order not to arouse the sensitivity of the United States and preventing it from taking precautionary measures and interventionist steps in this field, it has pursued a cautious foreign policy and has focused its activities on economic relations with the countries of Central Asia.

One of the methods of foreign policy analysis of the Islamic Republic of Iran is to explain the central strategies on the basis of which many actions and reactions of foreign policy can be understood and examined. The strategy of detente in the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran from 1989 to 2005 and also from 2013 until now, is one of these strategies with different titles such as "interactive developmentalist" policy and "interaction-oriented moderation" as important. The most foreign policy strategy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in those periods is considered. Therefore, the way of recognizing and theoretically explaining this strategy can help us to understand Iran's foreign policy more than before. In this article, we seek to explain the concern that de-escalation in the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran can be analyzed on the basis of what theoretical approach? Our findings suggest that the critical hermeneutic approach based on communicative action can be used as a useful theoretical framework for the study of detente in the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran. In this article, with descriptive-analytical method, de-tensioning in Iranian foreign policy based on critical hermeneutics focusing on topics such as communicative rationality and Habermas theory of communicative action, Hashemi Rafsanjani pragmatic discourse, Khatami discourse based on communicative rationality and ethics, discourse diplomacy , And the spiritual discourse of moderation and constructive interaction with the world, etc. are discussed in this article.