The volume of trade between Iraq and China has exceeded $50 billion over the past two years, Iraq’s foreign ministry announced on Tuesday.

The undersecretary of the Iraqi Foreign Ministry for Political Planning Hisham al-Alawi, told the Iraqi state media (INA) that “Chinese-Iraqi relations are important, with financial cooperation reaching around $400 billion.”

He added that “the volume of trade between Iraq and China over the past two years has exceeded $50 billion,” pointing out that “there is advanced cooperation between Beijing and Baghdad in the oil and gas sectors, as well as renewable energy.”

Alawi emphasized the importance of the Development Road project and its integration, highlighting its role in enhancing Iraq's regional standing and fostering economic integration.

This integration is expected to have a positive impact on various sectors, including agriculture, industry, trade, tourism, and services, thereby aiding in the realization of cooperation priorities between the two countries.

Meanwhile, the Chinese Ambassador to Iraq, Cue Wei, told the Iraqi state media (INA) that “there is great interest from Iraqis focusing on Iraqi-Chinese relations and Arab relations," indicating that "the Iraqi side is a very important member of the Arab League.”

He mentioned that “the Development and Silk Roads complement each other and will serve the interests of Iraq and China.”

In December 2023, Chinese Embassy in Iraq stated that the trade volume between the two countries in 2022 reached $53.37 billion, an annual increase of 43.1 percent.

The embassy noted that China's imports from Iraq amounted to $39.38 billion, an annual increase of 47.8 percent, and emphasized that China is the largest purchaser of Iraqi oil.

Chinese oil companies had a strong presence during Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al-Sudani's inauguration in early May, the competitive bidding process for global companies vying for contracts on oil and gas exploration blocks and fields in the fifth supplementary and sixth rounds of licenses across 12 Iraqi provinces.

On May 15, Prime Minister Sudani attended the contract signing ceremony for the Al-Faw Oil Refinery Project, a key initiative within the Grand Faw Port project.

The contract, signed between the Ministry of Oil/South Refineries Company and the Chinese company China National Chemical Engineering (CNCEC), underscored the government's commitment to boosting oil refining capacities, attracting foreign investments, and meeting domestic petroleum product demands.

Additionally, on May 20, the Iraqi state-owned Midland Oil Company signed an initial agreement with a consortium comprising the Chinese company Jereh and Petro Iraq to develop the Mansouriya gas field in Diyala province.