China is aiming to enter middle east politics through its economic agreement signed in 2019 with Iraq, which is financing major infrastructure projects in Tehran in exchange for oil exports, according to reports.
Two decades ago, in 2003, the United States' invasion of Iraq liberated the Iraqi people from the tyrannical rule of Saddam Hussein. Today, Baghdad is witnessing a growing China clout, a perfect example of how Beijing is looking at the security vacuum as an opportune time to dominate Iraq.
Many attempts have been made by China in order to take over Iraq's dominance over oil and petroleum resources. However, each attempt was foiled by Iraq's Oil Ministry. Russia's Lukoil and US oil giant Exxon Mobil wanted to sell their stakes in major fields to Chinese government-backed firms, but Iraq's Ministry of Oil intervention prevented it.
According to Al Arabiya's post, recent reports confirm some suspicions that the agreement involves a Chinese credit loan of USD 10 billion to be repaid by depositing the revenues of 100,000 barrels of crude oil Iraq exports to China in a special account in a Chinese bank.
It is to be noted that the agreement between China and Iraq is offering Beijing a big window to get deeply involved in Iraqi politics, speculating that it might be interested in facilitating the Iraqi-Arab compromises, providing an alternative to the American model that has not been very successful.
Reports also speculate that Iraq might be playing at the hands of China in helping it achieve that goal. Not only is it paving the way for letting China establish military bases in Iraq, it is also paying for it by mortgaging its most important resource, as per Al Arabia.
The terms of the agreement are for a period of 20 years.
The agreement came at a time when Iraq was jostling with massive protests against the government of former Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, demanding reforms and actions against the persisting state of corruption.
Several Iraqis expressed concern that the agreement may be a Chinese strategy to become a dominant player in the country's economy, and reap the benefits of its investments for years to come, Al Arabiya reported.
China, a country ill-famed for trying to take advantage of smaller economies in need of money, is now exploiting the security vacuum in Iraq that was created after the United States' withdrawal from the West Asian country and is aligning with militia groups to gain a strong foothold in the country's lucrative oil industry, according to media reports.
According to Washington Post, China's increasing control over oil is now becoming a major cause of concern for Iraq, a resource-rich nation. Beijing has always resorted to using cunning tactics in order to trap these nations and later cripple them economically and now it is playing out the same tactic in a bid to gain control of the West-Asian nation.
( With inputs from ANI )
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