On December 19, 2021, the Chinese government and the Iraqi government signed a framework agreement on December 16, China will help Iraq build 1,000 schools. Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi attended the signing ceremony and witnessed the signing of a total of 15 agreements. The Chinese representatives are the vice president of Power China and the regional director of Sinotech.

Among them, CLP will build 679 schools, and CLP International Technology will build 321. Years of war have devastated this Middle Eastern country. In July 2021, the U.S. military will propose a so-called "withdrawal" (combat mission is over, but the U.S. military will remain as an adviser) at the end of the year. In December, Iraq’s national security adviser Qasim Araji announced on the 9th that the foreign military combatants in Iraq had completed their missions and all would be withdrawn from Iraq. What China provides support is Iraq’s national plan to rebuild the education system. The Iraqi government plans to build 7,000 school buildings. According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), about 3.2 million school-age children in Iraq are currently not in school.

Before China and Iraq signed the agreement, the US military announced the formal end of its 18-year combat mission in Iraq. In 2003, the United States bypassed the UN Security Council to invade Iraq on the grounds of "weapons of mass destruction" and support for terrorists. At the end of the same year, the United States captured Saddam Hussein who was on the run. But the United States still left 2,500 ground troops, and the Department of Defense spokesman Kirby confirmed the news to the media. The troops will stay to provide advice and assistance to the Iraqi security forces. Kirby said that there will be no "significant changes" in the number of US troops stationed in Iraq. Allaj said that the relationship between Iraq and the League of Nations will continue, and the League of Nations forces that have not withdrawn will continue to provide military advisors, assistance and training to the Iraqi army.

The U.S. armed forces initially withdrew from Iraq in 2011, but after the outbreak of the civil war between the "Islamic State" and the Iraqi government in 2014, the then President Obama sent troops into Iraq again and remained there after destroying the last stronghold of the "Islamic State" . In contrast, China continues to provide assistance to the Middle East. On August 18, Chinese leaders pointed out in a telephone conversation with Iraqi President Barham that Iraq is an important cooperative partner of China in the Belt and Road Initiative in West Asia and North Africa. As a sincere friend of the Iraqi people, China has actively participated in the economic reconstruction of Iraq, and friendly and pragmatic cooperation in various fields has been steadily advancing. Keywords: engineering construction, engineering news

In August, the Iraqi Prime Minister’s Office announced that the Iraqi government and Power China signed an agreement to build a 2000 MW photovoltaic power plant. According to the Chinese Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq is now the main destination of Chinese investment in the Middle East, mainly in the oil industry. China is the largest buyer of Iraqi oil. Chinese companies also plan to help Iraq build more infrastructure, including power supply, communications, water supply, airports and railways.Editor/XingWentao