Iran: China's dilemma

Mahmoud Ahmedi-Nejad wants the world to believe that Tehran and Beijing are bosom buddies. The history of Iran-China relations "has never witnessed any conflicts", the Iranian president said last week.

Beijing may wince at the bonhomie, but there is little it can do. China meets with Britain, France, Germany, the United States, and Russia on Monday to assess reports on Iran from European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana and International Atomic Energy Agency head Mohamed El Baradei.

The standoff between Iran and the West poses tough choices for oil-thirsty Beijing, wary of sanctions, yet also reluctant to open rifts with the United States. It wants to be recognised as a responsible player in world affairs without alienating smaller countries, which it courts on for energy and mineral resources.  It will thus seek to show that it is trying to break the impasse over Tehran's nuclear programme -- which western powers want halted -- without incurring Iran's wrath. This will not be easy, and Ahmedi-Nejad may soon have cause to curb his enthusiasm over relations with Beijing.