Why did China use their reserves only do this AFTER Trump visited? Because they run a two face foreign policy just like Putin did for decades where they throw “weaker” countries under the bus to make the West like them.
So, we have to set the premise straight... each state, or polity, has it's own priorities at heart. To say that Iran will set the tone for what others should follow, even if Iran is right, is not going to fly... each decides from their own vantage point and that molds their opinion.
That being said... China has fought against the US... they have been humiliated... they already come from a place which dictates their priorities. Orange first move in the office was to toll China... to cut the trade deficit... it was Chinese retaliation that humbled the clown and he didn't attempt that again.
With Chinese flex, Orange could in theory go back and ask them to reset the table... ask for concessions. I do not have to explain here that, it is in fact China that ultimately loses if US manages to choke all of their oil... such as Venezuela or arm twisting Canada for any of the trade deals they do...
Which means... unless Iran has it's own leverage to pull ... anyone with something to give for a concession will do so bilaterally. In this case I do not expect China to concede Iran... it isn't theirs to give... and only Iran will dictate the course unless someone inside doesn't see the full picture.
Let me ask you a simple question, if the role was reversed and China was facing an energy crisis, do you think Europe/India/Japan/Australia/US would tap their oil reserves and STOP importing oil to help China?
Again, US had something to give for a concession and that would supersede a third country's primary motivation. Each of the countries you listed are in fact largest trading partner of China.
Of course not. They would be giddy with relief at a chance to DESTROY the Chinese economy. Xi has and always will be a Western appeaser.
XI has for the first time tightened the screws on western companies... sanctioned REs and now even tech originating in China. Xi will look for Chinese interests and that means he'll bide his time... he has a replacement in place for a reset... he can loose a few to get the house.
This could have happened much earlier if China kept buying oil like normal. Instead China directly emboldened Trump by giving him the breathing room and delusions needed to think he didn’t need the MOU or to abide it.
Chinese public position was and remains, end of hostilities. It is why they backed Pakistan for the peace process. It is Orange that played each... for which he has diminished his narcissistic self further in the hole.
No Xi has realized he is directly harming China by running down its reserves for no good reason in the face of a possible energy crisis.
Again, China has the largest reserves of any country. There is a demand crises happening in China and somewhat slowing of the economy. It is centralized economy and they can hit gas to prop up different parts of the economy or let some fall.
Back at the old forum (Pakistan defense forum) around 2013-2015 I told people there Putin’s appeasement policy and backstabbing Arab and Iran (Iraq, Libya, Syria) would come back to haunt him.
Putin has always assumed that he could get in the good graces of the collective. He was strung along and has brought Russia in a sort of bother... that is entirely on him... but to assume that Putin would have propped up a block and taken on the west... is also incorrect... he'd assume the same of all on the table... ditch Russia for better prospects or carrots offered by the collective. Think India... they had benefited from the former Soviet Union... however changed bases as it suited them... if it wasn't for the crucial things that only Russia offered and/or west couldn't replace, they kept Russia stringing along.
He laughed with Bush and called Iranians crazy. He didn’t do anything when Obama placed interceptors in Poland under the absurd pretext of “Iranian missile threat to Europe” and then he fell for that dyke Merkel’s tricks when he signed the Minsk accords instead of finishing off Ukraine when he had the chance over a decade ago.
APPEASEMENT WITH THE WEST NEVER WORKS!
That is an in club and out club thinking... as I said he always thought he'll just mix in and be a part of the collective. I don't think he laughs now...
Or perhaps, he reminisces...