ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - China is willing to link its Belt and Road initiative with Iraq’s Development Road project, its foreign ministry said on Wednesday.
“China is willing to strengthen the Belt and Road initiative, link it with Iraq's Development Road plan, and promote new progress in China-Iraq practical cooperation,” foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told Rudaw.
The Development Road project is planned from southern Iraq to the Turkish border, connecting the Persian Gulf with Turkey. It aims to enhance Iraq’s geopolitical position, boost the economy, and create thousands of job opportunities. The route is expected to link Iraq with the European Union via Turkey.
The project is expected to be finished by 2028.
“Iraq is an important partner of China in jointly building the Belt and Road,” Jian stressed.
Trade volume between Iraq and China in 2024 increased from the previous year, reaching an estimated $55 billion, according to Iraqi Ambassador to Beijing Shoresh Khalid.
China is the biggest importer of Iraqi oil.
Beijing's ties with Baghdad have developed in recent years, with China opening a consulate general in Iraq's southern oil-rich city of Basra last year, followed by the opening of an Iraqi consulate in Guangzhou a year later.
China is also heavily invested in numerous sectors inside Iraq, with a school shortage in the country paving the way for an agreement with Beijing to build thousands of new schools in Iraq.
In recent years, China has stepped up its diplomatic efforts in the Middle East, as it increasingly becomes a key actor in regional affairs to promote an alternative to US influence. In March 2023, Beijing brokered a deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran to end a seven year hiatus in diplomatic ties.
