China will let whoever is in power in Iraq, Iran, Syria and other places. Those leaders do what they need to do and partner with whomever they need to partner with to ensure political and economic stability.

With European banks put off by America's unpredictable sanctions policy in recent years and unwilling to finance deals without sovereign guarantees, China's CITIC Group and Development Bank stepped in with offers of $10 and $15 billion credit lines. A panicked Ferial Mostofi, head of Iran's Chamber of Commerce, remarked that "[Western firms] had better come quickly to Iran otherwise China will take over." China's National Machinery Industry Corp just signed an $845 million contract to construct a 410km railway in western Iran connecting Tehran, Hamedan and Sanandaj, and there is a chance that China will replace India in developing the strategic Iranian port of Chabahar on the Arabian Sea.