For much of the last two decades, China has maintained a delicate balance in its military relationship with Iran, offering often indirect assistance instead of arms sales.

过去二十年的大部分时间里，中国在与伊朗的军事关系中一直维持着一种微妙的平衡，通常提供间接援助，而不是直接出售武器。

That approach is now drawing renewed attention after U.S. officials said intelligence agencies were assessing whether China may have shipped shoulder-fired missiles to Iran in recent weeks. President Trump has said he would impose an additional 50 percent tariff on Chinese goods if the assessment proves accurate. China has denied the claim, calling it “pure fabrication” and has vowed to “resolutely retaliate” if the Trump administration goes through with tariffs.

这种做法如今再次受到关注，因为美国官员表示，情报机构正在评估中国最近几周是否向伊朗输送了肩扛式导弹。特朗普总统表示，如果评估结果属实，他将对中国商品额外征收50%的关税。中国否认这一指控，称其为“纯属捏造”，并誓言如果特朗普政府实施关税将“坚决反制”。

The American officials said the information obtained by U.S. intelligence agencies was not definitive. But if proven true, it would be a significant tactical change in the way Beijing supports its closest strategic partner in the Middle East.

美国官员称，美国情报机构获得的信息并非确凿无疑。而如果得到证实，这将标志着北京支持其中东最亲密战略伙伴的方式发生重大的战术转变。

Chinese arms sales to Iran exploded in the 1980s and have all but vanished in the last decade to comply with a United Nations embargo and U.S. sanctions. Chinese support for Iran in recent years has instead come in the form of components that could be used in both civilian technologies as well as missiles and drones.

中国对伊朗的武器销售在1980年代曾急剧增长，但为遵守联合国武器禁运和美国制裁在过去十年几乎完全消失。近些年来，中国对伊朗的支持转为提供可用于民用技术以及导弹和无人机的零部件。

China has a major stake in the crisis in Iran. About a third of its total crude oil imports come from the Persian Gulf.

中国在伊朗危机中有着重大利益。其原油进口总量约有三分之一来自波斯湾。

Here is how China’s military support for Iran has evolved over the years:

以下是中国对伊朗军事支持多年来演变的情况：

The 1980s: The Boom Years

1980年代：繁荣期

The outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War in 1980 coincided with major market reforms in China when the leader at the time, Deng Xiaoping, ordered state-owned companies to wean themselves off government support and instead seek commercial profit.

1980年两伊战争爆发时正值中国进行重大市场改革。当时的领导人邓小平要求国有企业摆脱政府扶持，转而寻求商业利润。

Chinese state-run defense companies were suddenly empowered to export their wares. That resulted in a deluge of Chinese missiles, fighter jets, tanks, armored vehicles and assault rifles being sold to Iran starting in 1982 and peaking in 1987, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

中国国有国防企业突然获得出口权。据斯德哥尔摩国际和平研究所的数据，从1982年开始，大量中国导弹、战斗机、坦克、装甲车和突击步枪被出售给伊朗，并于1987年达到峰值。

At the same time, China sold even more arms to Iraq, resulting in a situation in which the two warring sides clashed with each other using the same Chinese weapons.

与此同时，中国向伊拉克出售了更多武器，导致交战双方在冲突中使用同样的中国武器。

The Reagan administration opposed China’s arms sales to Iran, particularly Silkworm anti-ship cruise missiles. Tehran used the missiles in attacks in Kuwaiti waters in 1987 that struck an American-owned tanker and an American-registered tanker.

里根政府反对中国向伊朗出售武器，尤其是“蚕”式反舰巡航导弹。1987年，德黑兰使用这些导弹在科威特水域发动袭击，击中一艘美国拥有的油轮和一艘悬挂美国旗帜的油轮。

1987年，一艘名为“海岛城号”的美国注册油轮在科威特水域被伊朗导弹击中后的情景。

The United States responded by curbing exports of some high-technology products to China. China denied selling arms directly to Iran, but said it would do more to prevent its military exports from reaching Iran through intermediaries.

美国随即限制向中国出口部分高技术产品。中国否认直接向伊朗出售武器，但表示将采取更多措施，防止其军品出口通过中间商流向伊朗。

The 1990s: Technology Transfers

1990年代：技术转让

Following the war, Iran set out to develop its own military-industrial base with the help of China. One of its key products was the Noor anti-ship cruise missile, which had been reverse-engineered through purchases of Chinese C-802 cruise missiles.

战争结束后，伊朗在中国帮助下着手发展自己的军事工业基础。其中一项关键产品是“努尔”反舰巡航导弹，该导弹是通过采购中国C-802巡航导弹进行逆向工程得到的。

“China played a major role in supporting Iran’s military modernization for decades, especially in developing Iran’s missile capabilities,” said Brian Hart, a fellow with the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“中国几十年来在支持伊朗军事现代化方面发挥了重要作用，尤其是在发展伊朗导弹能力方面，”战略与国际研究中心中国力量项目研究员布赖恩·哈特表示。

伊朗官方媒体发布了一张照片，称这是2010年一次演习中发射的伊朗制造的“努尔”导弹。

Iran also received help from China in building missile-production facilities and even in constructing a missile test range east of Tehran, wrote Bates Gill, a longtime China expert, in the Middle East Review of International Affairs.

资深中国问题专家季北慈(Bates Gill)在《中东国际事务评论》上称，伊朗还在中国的帮助下建造了导弹生产设施，甚至在德黑兰以东建设了一个导弹试验场。

Under U.S. pressure to curtail its sale of finished weapons, particularly missiles, to Iran, China began increasing exports of machine tools and components that could be used for both military and civilian purposes.

在美国压力下减少向伊朗出售成品武器（尤其是导弹）后，中国开始增加出口机床和可用于军民两用的零部件。

The 2000s to the Present: Dual-Use Technologies

2000年代至今：军民两用技术

In 2006, the United Nations imposed sanctions on Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs. China voted in favor of the resolution and largely pivoted away from new, formal arms contracts with Tehran.

2006年，联合国对伊朗核计划和弹道导弹计划实施制裁。中国投票赞成该决议，并基本放弃了与德黑兰签订新的正式武器合同。

The shift was as much about regional strategy as it was about international law. Starting in the mid-2010s, China began deepening its strategic relationships with Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, traditional rivals of Iran, as well as Qatar.

这一转变既与国际法有关，也与地区战略考量有关。从2010年代中期开始，中国开始深化与海湾国家的战略关系，其中包括伊朗的传统对手沙特阿拉伯和阿拉伯联合酋长国以及卡塔尔。

China continued to supply Iran with dual-use technologies and materials that have helped it amass an arsenal of missiles and drones.

中国继续向伊朗提供军民两用技术和材料，帮助其积累了大量导弹和无人机库存。

That included chemicals used to produce fuel for ballistic missiles and components for drones, such as radio frequency connectors and turbine blades

这包括用于生产弹道导弹燃料的化学品，以及无人机零部件，例如射频连接器和涡轮叶片。

But Mr. Hart said China was still “a critical form of support, given Iran’s reliance on ballistic missiles and drones to attack U.S. and Israeli forces and other countries in the region.”

但哈特表示，“鉴于伊朗依赖弹道导弹和无人机攻击美国和以色列部队以及该地区其他国家，”中国仍然是“一种关键的支持形式”。

去年在德黑兰举行的阅兵式上展示的武器。

The U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned Chinese and Hong Kong front companies it says were set up to source parts and ingredients for ballistic missiles and drones for Iran.

美国财政部已制裁了一些中国和香港的幌子公司，据称这些公司是为伊朗获取弹道导弹和无人机零部件及原料而设立的。

Suspicions are also growing that Iran is using its access to China’s BeiDou satellite navigation system, an alternative to the U.S.-owned Global Positioning System, for military purposes. Last month, a U.S. congressional agency said BeiDou may have been used to direct Iran’s drone and missile strikes across the Middle East.

外界还越来越怀疑伊朗正在将其获取的中国北斗卫星导航系统——一种美国全球定位系统GPS的替代方案——用于军事目的。上个月，美国国会下属的一家机构表示，北斗系统可能已被用于引导伊朗在中东地区的无人机和导弹袭击。