BAGHDAD — Iraq's pro-government Shiite blocs are alleging an economic agreement signed between outgoing Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi and China in September is linked to the mass public protests that started in October.

Iran-backed factions of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), which support Abdul Mahdi's government, are promoting a conspiracy theory that the United States engineered the mass protests in Iraq to topple the government and nullify the agreement, to stop China from investing and expanding its influence in Iraq. 

Abdul Mahdi seems bent on implementing the agreement with China, though his government no longer has full legal and administrative powers. Since its resignation Nov. 29, it has been a caretaker government. On Dec. 23, Abdul Mahdi chaired a meeting on the Chinese projects, attended by the minister of planning and various deputy ministers. However, he refused to attend parliamentary sessions to discuss the agreement or send any documentation to parliamentary committees, which some legislators find suspicious.

Parliament member Mohammad Iqbal said, “The government’s intentional hiding of documents signed with China supports the idea that some provisions are not in Iraq’s interest and goes in line with the alarming media leaks.”