China and Iraq announce strategic partnership
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for a two-day visit, Abadi’s first since assuming office in September 2014. During Abadi’s visit, China and Iraq issued a joint statementupgrading their relationship to a strategic partnership. In a meeting with Abadi, Chinese President Xi Jinping praised the development of China-Iraq ties, and said that […]Shannon Tiezzi reports for The Diplomat:
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for a two-day visit, Abadi’s first since assuming office in September 2014. During Abadi’s visit, China and Iraq issued a joint statementupgrading their relationship to a strategic partnership.
In a meeting with Abadi, Chinese President Xi Jinping praised the development of China-Iraq ties, and said that the new strategic partnership would provide “a solid foundation” for future advances in the relationship. Xi also pledged Chinese assistance in “energy, electricity, communication and infrastructure” projects in Iraq, which he tied to China’s “Belt and Road” initiative. In his own meeting with Abadi, Premier Li Keqiang repeated that promise, and also mentioned building up Iraq’s production capacity in certain manufacturing industries.
