Back in early 2018 when rumours were rife that then-U.S. President Donald Trump was going to unilaterally withdraw his country from the ‘nuclear deal’ with Iran, China moved to position itself to occupy the vacuum that would be left in Iran and Iraq, at the very heart of the Middle East.
Judging from comments made by the city’s Governor at the time, Abbas Al-Saadi, China’s heavy involvement in Phase 2 of the projects was part of the 2019 ‘Oil for Reconstruction and Investment’ agreement. Another deal was for Chinese companies to build a civilian airport to replace the military base in the capital of the southern oil rich Dhi Qar governorate.