Iraq ranked third among the Arab countries and the countries of the Middle East in trade exchange with China.

Manar Al-Obeidi, head of the Future Iraq Foundation for Economic Studies and Consultations, said in a statement: Trade exchange between a group of Arab countries and Middle Eastern countries with China increased in the first quarter of 2023 by 5% compared to the first quarter of 2022, bringing the total trade exchange with these countries to a value of 113 billion dollar.

He added: Saudi Arabia ranked first in trade exchange with China, with a value of $27 billion, with an annual growth rate of 10%, followed by the United Arab Emirates, with a value of $23 billion, with an annual growth rate of 13%. Iraq occupied third place in trade exchange with China, with a value of $12.4 billion, with a rate of growth of 5.4%.

Al-Obeidi explained: The value of Iraq’s total exports to China in the first quarter amounted to 9 billion dollars, of which petroleum products represented 100% of the value of exports, while the value of Iraq’s imports from China was 3.4 billion US dollars, with an annual growth rate of 23.44% compared to the first quarter of 2022.

It is expected, according to Al-Obeidi, that the volume of trade exchange between Iraq and China will reach more than 50 billion US dollars at the end of this year.

He continued: Saudi Arabia topped the countries that exported the most non-oil materials to China, with an export value of $2.5 billion, followed by the UAE, with a value of non-oil exports amounting to $1.26 billion, then Turkey, with an export value of $1.13 billion. Iraq had no contribution to non-oil exports to China.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency