Bilateral Relations between China and Iraq
2013-04-11 20:57
The bilateral relations between China and Iraq have seen smooth development since the two countries established diplomatic relations on August 25th, 1958. During the Gulf Crisis in 1990, China stopped economic, trade and military exchanges with Iraq according to relevant UN resolutions. After the Gulf War, China implemented some trade exchanges with Iraq under the Oil-for-Food plan.
China-Iraq relations were affected by the Iraqi War in 2003 but were gradually restored after the war. In August of 2003, Jalal Talabani, as chairman of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and member of the Iraqi Interim Governing Council, visited China. In March of 2004, the Rotating Chairman of Iraqi Interim Governing Council Muhammed Bahrululoom also visited China. In July of the same year, China reopened its Embassy in Iraq. In December, Foreign Minister Zebari visited China. In June of 2007, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani visited China. A political consultation mechanism was established between the two Foreign Ministries afterwards. In January of 2008, Iraqi Deputy Foreign Minister Abbawi visited China and held the first round of political consultation. In February of 2011, Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Zhai Jun visited Iraq and held the second round of political consultation. In July of the same year, Iraqi Prime Minister Al-Maliki paid an official visit to China. In May of 2012, Chinese Assistant Minister Ma Zhaoxu led the Chinese delegation to attend the Baghdad Iranian Nuclear Talks and met with Iraqi Foreign Minister Zebari during the meeting. In December of 2012, the Chinese Embassy in Iraq restarted its consular and visa service.
In the year 2012, Iraq became the 4th largest Arabic trade partner of China. The bilateral trade volume reached 17.569 billion US Dollars, with a year-on-year growth of 23.13%. China imported 15.68 million tons of crude oil from Iraq, with a year-on-year growth of 13.87%.