Iran-China Relations is a two-part interview with Dr. William Figueroa about Iran’s fascinating relationship with China over the past century.
The first episode is about Dr. Figueroa’s article for the Iran 1400 Project Constitutionalism Across Asia: Iran and China. In this episode, Dr. Figueroa discusses the influence of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution on Chinese elites and the impact of pan-Asian and anti-colonial sentiment on Iran, China, and greater Asia. He provides background on the Chinese constitutional revolution, pointing out the similarities between it and Iran. He details how technological advancements such as the first large-scale international telegraph network allowed people to keep up with world events and highlights the imagined global community of Asian constitutional states.
Listen here:
The second episode covers Iran-China relations today and the geopolitical implications of the Iranian and Chinese constitutional revolutions discussed in the previous episode. Dr. Figueroa analyzes Iran and China’s often disproportionate relationship, providing his thoughts on a variety of aspects and events, from the Iran-China 25-year agreement to the Russia-Ukraine War, to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s recent trip to Taiwan.
Listen:
- Constitutionalism Across Asia: Iran and China: https://iran1400.org/discover/constitutionalism-across-asia-iran-and-china/
- William Figueroa’s dissertation: China and the Iranian Left: Transnational Networks of Social, Cultural, and Ideological Exchange, 1905–1979
Other papers by Dr. William Figueroa:
- Performative Diplomacy: Iran–Republic of China Relations, 1920–1949
- China and the Iranian Revolution: New Perspectives on Sino-Iranian Relations, 1965–1979
Bill Figueroa is an assistant professor of history and international relations at the University of Groningen. Before this role, he was a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Cambridge Centre for Geopolitics. He holds a Ph.D. in History and a Masters in East Asian Studies from the University of Pennsylvania, as well as a BA in Anthropology and Asian Studies from Rice University. His research focuses on China in the Middle East and Sino-Iranian relations.
