Geopolitical and Economic Implications of the Belt and Road Initiative on Iraq

Abstract

China seeks to expand its involvement in the Middle East and the Arabian Gulf region (Iraq), specifically through the Belt and Road Initiative launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, which is the most prominent project, which aims to create the largest platform for economic cooperation through the development of international trade routes and economic corridors. Within the framework of policy coordination and interconnection with infrastructure networks, commercial and financial companies, and communication between peoples, and the project connects more than 65 countries with a total population estimated at 4.4 million, or about 63% of the world’s population, the initiative received a wide response and participation from about 70 countries overlooking this The pipeline, led by Middle Eastern countries, and estimates predict that China will spend more than a trillion dollars on this project by 2027. This initiative relies on investing in the idea of the Silk Road, the old land road that linked China to Central Asia and the Mediterranean region thousands of years ago. Of oil and natural gas pipelines, along with a network of industrial fibers that inaugurate the Silk Road electronically in keeping with the twenty-first century. The initiative is also geographically broader than the ancient Silk Road, as it connects China with the outside world, starting from the regions of East, South and Central Asia to the continent of Europe. Passing through the regions of West Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, and the initiative is basically a development strategy launched by the Chinese president and centers around cooperation and communication between countries, especially between China and the countries of Asia and Africa. Hence, it is a real opportunity for Iraq to rebuild its infrastructure and benefit from the transit trade that passes through Iraq through the completion of the great port of Faw and the dry canal road, and thus, which will lead to the advancement and diversification of Iraq's economy and not depend on oil only.