China and Iran: Two Thousand Years of Friendship Beginning with the Silk Road
The narrative of bilateral relations between China and Iran spans centuries with a long historical record of friendly and cooperative interaction.
According to analysis from John W. Garver, an international relations expert from Georgia Institute of Technology, the partnership between China and Iran (Persia) has been established for approximately 20 centuries. This historical record encompasses not only trade and culture, but also shaped the foundation of both nations’ stance towards Western dominance in the modern era.
The Beginning of Interaction Through the Silk Road
Contact between the Han Dynasty in China and the Parthian Empire in Persia is recorded as beginning in 139 BCE. At that time, a Chinese envoy named Zhang Qian travelled to western regions, specifically to the northern bank of the Oxus River (now the Amu Darya), to seek allies to counter the threat posed by the Xiongnu tribes.
Although Zhang Qian did not reach Parthian territory directly, he succeeded in bringing strategic information about the empire to the Han court in Changan. This event triggered increased diplomatic activity and the development of trade routes between the two empires, later known as the Silk Road.
In the pre-Islamic period, Persian merchants played a leading role in organising trade routes between China and the western regions, marked by the settlement of many Persians in Guangzhou and Hanoi (then part of the Chinese empire).
The Golden Age of Cultural and Commodity Exchange
Beyond commodity trade, this interaction facilitated the exchange of culture and belief systems. The Kushan Kingdom, which had strong Persian influence, became a centre for the spread of Buddhism to China during the 2nd to 4th centuries CE. Other Persian influences such as Zoroastrianism and Nestorian Christianity also entered China in the 6th and 7th centuries.
During the Tang Dynasty, Persian cultural influence in China expanded further, encompassing poetry, polo and culinary innovation. In the economic sector, the massive export of Chinese porcelain to the Near East from the 9th century onwards became a key element in the global economic system of the time. High demand even drove the development of the porcelain industry in Persia.
Relations between the two regions became increasingly integrated following the Mongol conquest in the 13th century, which triggered exchanges of experts between the Yuan Dynasty in China and the Il-Khanate in Persia. Knowledge such as astronomy, printing technology and paper money from China were transmitted to Persia. Conversely, mathematics, medicine and pharmacology from Persian and Arab regions were introduced to China. Cobalt blue pigment from the Near East also became the base material for the blue-and-white porcelain characteristic of China’s Ming Dynasty.
Geopolitical Meaning Regarding Western Hegemony
The historical records of these pre-modern interactions now have a strategic role within the framework of nationalist ideology in both countries.
Firstly, the history is used to assert the achievements of Chinese and Persian civilisation, providing the view that their civilisations are equal and do not fall under Western civilisational supremacy.
Secondly, the narrative of historical cooperation shapes the view that the China-Iran partnership is natural and positive. From the perspective of both countries, the disruption of peaceful relations in the past is seen as a result of imperialist intervention, and Western countries’ objections to current Sino-Iranian relations are often regarded as remnants of past superiority attitudes.
Thirdly, the emphasis on the non-military nature of historical interaction between the two countries is implicitly used to show a different moral position compared to the history of Western power expansion. This simultaneously affirms the view that there are no fundamental conflicts of interest between China and Iran for continued cooperation.