China: A Model for Iran?
Since some years ago a number of Iranian leaders had declared their intention follow China’s approach to human rights and through it, justify Iran’s violations of the same.
But with o er thirty years of the Chinese model, Iran with a population that is nowhere close to that of China’s, has not succeeded in transforming its oil-based economy into a production economy or through employment strategies and relaxation of tension in is foreign policy achieve lasting independence or a durable economic development such as that of China.
Among Iranian authorities, the China model has been defined in terms of the latter’s gross violations of human rights and not its economic strategies, movement towards free markets and international relaxation of tensions.
One cannot justify political blunders by simply looking at one rejected aspect of this model. One one hand China has created an extensive political and business relations with the United States despite its deep ideological differences with it while on the other it has opted to pursue its trade interests and welfare of its people rather than engage in childish political games.
The Iranian government on the other hand claims to be pursuing the Chinese model while insisting on having tension with the international community, engaging in limited trade and economic relations with the world. These policies have led to diminishing foreign investment in Iran while economic activity inside the country is struggling with insurmountable problems.
But for Iran, China has only been a model regarding human rights, while not modeling the latter’s foreign policy and other prudent approaches. Iran has not used China’s examples in creating jobs for its vast population.
In general, I wish the Iranian government would recognize that China’s model is not the most suitable model for growth and development in today’s world, and that if a model was to be chosen advanced countries in the free world offer better paradigms. But despite that, if this regime wants to use the Chinese model, then it should look at all the complex aspects of this archetype and study them and not only its approaches that battle democracy!