Saudi Arabia doesn't speak for the Sunni Arab world. Why is this so hard to understand? Saudi Arabia's allies are Egypt and the UAE, maybe Kuwait, Jordan and Oman. That's not many countries. Iran's allies are Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, maybe Tajikistan and Afghanistan. They are poorer today, but that wasn't always the case. Just imagine the potential for oil: If Iran and Iraq were producing at full capacity again, oil prices would drop substantially and many American producers would be forced out of the market.
China's strength has always been to treat all countries with respect and this respect is returned by most global south countries.
If you can't see things from the others perspective, you won't have a productive relationship. If China actually acted like it were entitled to smaller countries doing as China says, then none would want to choose China's side against the US.
Pakistan won't be any more successful in the absence of Chabahar. Iranian energy for Pakistan would likely be much more significant to rescue Pakistan from failing completely. Why hasn't Pakistan built the gas pipeline to connect to Iran?
Do you realise that they were only allowed to do this because they were an American ally? If they become a Chinese ally and invade a neighbour, they'll be sanctioned immediately. They know this of course, so they will never become as anti west as Iran is. They're scared of being sanctioned and if your attitude is widespread in China they'll also know that China won't protect them from western sanctions. So they'll refuse to pick a side and trade with both east and west.
Iran isn't useful because its market is significant. It's a small economy and so is Saudi Arabia. Saudi oil and Qatari gas make a difference for China, their consumer markets not so much. Iran has been a centre of American foreign policy for decades. They've spent vast amounts of political capital to get other countries to sanction Iran. This has let others, including China, develop in peace while the US was busy in the middle east. China should support countries like Iran, North Korea, Myanmar and now Russia that face western pressure. This will discourage new sanctions against other countries that are considering siding with China. Why should a country like Kazakhstan align with China if China will bin the relationship for the hope of some more exports somewhere else?
It's also quite dangerous not to support countries that want to be your allies when they face outside or domestic challenges. If Iran has a colour revolution and flips to the other side, China would have a huge problem. You can already see that the Saudi ruling family is extremely unpopular in the west while the Iranian women are described as heroes. If there's another revolution in Iran and it aligns with the west, China wouldn't benefit. China should always ensure that the other country feels it benefits from the relationship
