As U.S. and Israel Strike Iran, China Watchers See Beijing Poised to Profit From the Chaos

Mourners gather with Iranian national flags for a memorial vigil, a day after the assassination of Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei in joint US and Israeli strikes, in Tehran on March 1, 2026. AFP

Almost immediately after the U.S. and Israel launched “major combat operations” against Iran, a vigorous debate erupted online over what this latest conflict in the Persian Gulf would mean for China.

The discourse largely broke down into two distinct categories:

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by Eric Olander

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