if China actually carries out their 25 year plan with promised 400 billion dollar investment, it could actually turn alot around.
You'd have high-speed bullet trains that travel from Tehran - Isfahan in 1.5 hours or something. You can live in Isfahan and work in Tehran. It has a major impact on the economy.
I don't know what is holding China back, but whatever it is, it needs to be resolved.
Either this plan goes in effect, we sit and stagnate, or capitulate to western demands and beg them to do the same that China would anyways.
capitulate to western demands
If you capitulate to the Whites, they will firstly, dismantle all of the ballistic missile and drone arsenal of Iran and indigenous systems, or, modify them so it pass easier as a method of capitulation, putting their codes inside them and limiting their range specifically to hit ennemies of the West (South central Russia and Western China), making in sort that they never could reach Israel and also that they could never be launched without their approval
The indigenous systems plans will all be stopped, instead, Iran would cooperate with them directly by buying things such as Patriot batteries and other Western SHORAD, propose you export F-16s, Eurofighters, MQ9 drones, Abrams tanks (export versions of course), export warships limited to frigates and corvettes and things like that, of course all backdoored, and if you would dare purchasing something from Russia or China, say hello to even more abuse, and if you dare making something by yourself such as a simple cruise missile with a range of 600km or a simple ballistic missile, you are screwed.
They will also, force you into classic White ultra abusive-deals, they will propose to help Iran build second grade gas and oil extraction machines, which of course they will get a big percentage on (pretty much like the British Persian oil company at the time), make pipelines to Israel and Europe, close the fields to any locals, contracts would last from 40 to 60 years (Reza Khan signed a contract for 60years with the British for oil, for barely nothing in exchange, even Rockefeller was mocking Pahlavis)
They also will install military bases into Iran, even military city bases like in Germany with McDonalds for the marines installed there, at some expense of Iran, thus making Iran a target for Russia and China
They will take control over all nuclear facilities, undoubtedly dismantling some of them and limiting their capacity as they wish
They will also make their own industry there and make profits
They will influence every decision of Iran (oil selling, any foreign policies)
They will Label Iran as an unstable state, thus limiting any high value imports (pretty much the same as Pakistan with the US right now, even Saudi Arabia which only have backdoored military systems and fighter fleet coming from the US/Europe)
This is the White Freedom Package, and even, it would be more than just this, look at the Pompeo 12 demands and add all of this with that. Meanwhile I'm not seeing China or Russia interfering into Iran domestic decisions neither external decisions or having military bases inside Iran, something that the Whites would do massively, just look at all the countries "allied" with them, the Whites just controls them how they want it, to the eyes of them, Iran would be a new shithole free oil and gas and money machine to exploit in exchange of pieces of crap and backdoored systems, same for all infrastructure they would invest on. You will be their slave, they will be your masters, just like a nice little dog.