"...Despite the inherent risks in dealing with complex and unstable markets such as Iraq, Chinese investors have been gaining a foothold in the country’s energy sector and in doing so have begun to face a unique set of challenges. In addition to having to navigate a tumultuous political and security environment, China is engaging a country that for a long period of time remained effectively under U.S. military occupation even as the central Iraqi government operated under a framework of limited sovereignty ... China’s growing profile in Iraq also has thrust it into a geopolitical morass of intra-Arab rivalries. Iraq’s reemergence as an energy power has important geopolitical implications that transcend its impact on global supply and demand dynamics ..."

China Brief, Volume: 13 Issue: 10 (May 9, 2013)


The Middle East Institute (MEI) is an independent, non-partisan, non-for-profit, educational organization. It does not engage in advocacy and its scholars’ opinions are their own. MEI welcomes financial donations, but retains sole editorial control over its work and its publications reflect only the authors’ views. For a listing of MEI donors, please click here.