The red-green axis is expanding exponentially while the Biden administration sinks ever deeper. After brokering an Iran-Saudi Arabia deal, China is now expanding its operations in Iraq. The new Iran-Saudi deal prompted jihad outlets throughout Middle East to emphasize (and celebrate) America’s decline. This decline is proceeding on many fronts, including Biden’s slow destruction of America’s oil industry with his ongoing focus on a green utopia. Months earlier, Sky News Australia called Biden a “dementia patient and international laughing stock.” China, which has been working its way around the globe, is outmaneuvering the United States.
China’s business with Iraq isn’t new. In September 2019, Iraqi then-Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi “revealed that his country was signing on to China’s signature Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). His announcement coincided with his state visit to Beijing.” At that time, Iraq agreed to deals with China to include infrastructure, “work on Iraq’s electricity and manufacturing, as well as building a Chinese library in the University of Baghdad.” Of course, oil projects were part of the China-Iraq pact. During the Arab-China Summit in Riyadh this past December, Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani continued along the path of his predecessor and renewed his country’s commitment to the Belt and Road Initiative, along with “other investment, energy, and infrastructure projects.”
In 2022 alone, China increased its crude oil imports from Iraq by $8 billion, which translated into big gains for China, since the country “only exported $22 billion of crude oil in 2018, but this number increased to $49 billion in 2022 thanks to its exports from Iraq.” China has also found its way around wars in the region:
China relies on oil imports from Iraq that are transported through the Persian Gulf. However, interstate tensions, civil wars, and terrorist incidents in the Middle East pose a threat to the stability of China’s energy supply from the region. To address this, China has set a goal to “provide security and stability” along the supply route from Iraq and other Middle Eastern countries.
It took a long time for Communist China to establish a presence in Iraq and other Middle Eastern countries. Its modus operandi is quiet, patient, strategic and effective, while America has been virtually pushed out of the picture.
“China’s Expanding Influence in Iraq,” by Sercan Çalışkan, The Diplomat, March 22, 2023:
Different regions, such as the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America, have become the stage for the global power struggle between the United States and China, particularly since the beginning of the 21st century. As competition between these two countries intensifies, the impact on third countries has grown significantly.
The Middle East, which has frequently experienced civil wars, terrorist incidents, and social crises in recent history, has emerged as a new geography with unique dynamics in the China-U.S. rivalry. Although China has had economic cooperation with Middle Eastern countries in the past, its military, political, and social relations are relatively new compared to those of the United States and other countries with connections to the Middle East. Nevertheless, China has accelerated its Middle East policies in several areas over the past decade, particularly through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) announced in 2013.
Since then, China has increased its cooperation with Middle Eastern countries, particularly with Iraq. Iraq’s geostrategic location and its trade through the Persian Gulf make it a crucial point in China’s roadmap for the BRI.
China’s economic interests place a high priority on importing energy from the Middle East. As the world’s largest oil importer, China purchases more than 10 million barrels of crude oil daily, and half of this is sourced from Middle Eastern countries. China’s dependence on imported energy and the significant role of oil-producing countries in the Middle East in meeting this demand make the region an indispensable energy market for China.
Energy investments play a significant role in the BRI, which was launched in 2013 to commercially connect China with the rest of the world via land and sea routes. Iraq has become an essential part of these investments and has been the third-largest partner for energy engagement in the BRI since 2013, after Pakistan and Russia.
Enjoying this article? Click here to subscribe for full access. Just $5 a month.
In 2022, China imported a significant amount of crude oil from Iraq, totaling 55.49 tonnes. This represented a substantial increase of 47.49 percent in Iraq’s oil exports to China, resulting in $39.04 billion in revenue. In contrast, China only exported $22 billion of crude oil in 2018, but this number increased to $49 billion in 2022 thanks to its exports from Iraq. The significant increase in the oil trade alone highlights the strategic importance of the bilateral relations between China and Iraq in terms of energy policies.
China relies on oil imports from Iraq that are transported through the Persian Gulf. However, interstate tensions, civil wars, and terrorist incidents in the Middle East pose a threat to the stability of China’s energy supply from the region. To address this, China has set a goal to “provide security and stability” along the supply route from Iraq and other Middle Eastern countries.
The instability in the region also causes fluctuations in oil prices, which can have a serious impact on the Chinese economy. As a result, China’s primary expectation from the Middle East is for it to remain a reliable and stable trading partner. To achieve this, China is investing billions of dollars in bilateral agreements and infrastructure projects with Middle Eastern states…
Jim says
America has wasted so much blood and treasre in Iraq and other countries in the Near East. Now China comes in and reaps the benefits. Why is America or Europe not taking this business away from China and using it to replace Russian or Iranian oil? Is this all Joe and his family and the handlers? Or is America going off the deep end in its race to the bottom.?
JS says
Yes, China is a threat, but we cannot be distracted from the Islamic threat, which is what they want! But I will say, why the hell are the Chinese being allowed into the country too? Does Biden remember that currently China is one of our most dangerous enemies?
Biden has permitted our US State Department to be an enemy of America and our allies. It is run by radical Islamists who are there to conquer and destroy America, and of course Israel, and give hundreds of millions, sometime billions to enemy Islamic nations. I’m very serious and it’s frightening! What is going on there appears as if Al Queda or ISIS is running our country! Has anyone here ever read a report about the actions of the State Department that didn’t have a result that harmed America? And radically helped Islam? Just look at Afghanistan. That’s an obvious one, but there are many, many more if we pay attention!
If you really want to know what’s going on subscribe to the U.S. State Department emails and read them. I’ve been looking around for almost a year to see if politicians or media or anyone mentions the nefarious things going on from the State Department…but have found nothing but Mike Pompeo, in a video, just mentioning for a moment, the nefarious State Department. Aside from that…crickets!
And then there is Homeland Security. Totally infiltrated with Islamic enemies, all by Biden. Then there is more corruption, by the same with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. And they now, as of March 15, 2023 have a Regional Center Investor (allows an investor with one or more qualified immigrants to get their immigrants into the U.S., which may explain the huge number of Islamic immigrants that have now been allowed into our country. I call them FLY INS, for obvious reasons.
Which begs the question, does anyone know what is going on? No one talks about these, but just mention the southern border. I do not think anyone is aware of these things. And also the Canadian border. Those numbers crossing into the US are up 900+ percent, and we all know that Trudeau loves his Islamic supremacists.
Also, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services are no longer charging fees for biometrics and will Refund anyone who in past who paid those fees. Also, they tell them now No identification, no problem! And most will not even have to be interviewed!
There is so much to unpack here and I’ve yet to mention the U.S. Department of Commerce. Have children? Chances are they will not be beneficiaries of any of the many programs, benefits, special trainings, grants, and funds that are in place for these new immigrants. I’ve been unable to find ANY government agency that hasn’t been infiltrated into the most important positions in the U.S. – all at the detriment of the American people. None. And now I’m just exhausted, angry and frightened for our nation and people.
libertyORdeath says
This is about the only thing the Biden regime and their globalist allies have been successful at – empowering China and destroying America’s reputation on the world stage.
Burnaby Lad says
belt and road initiative in Iraq
improvised explosive devices
࿗Infidel࿘ says
If Iraq still has its oil revenues, they are one of the few countries that can actually afford those projects w/o the predatory loans
OLD GUY says
China maybe the next sucker to invest money, lives and resources in the islamic blood sucking world.