Iraq's outgoing government keeps mum on China pact
Iraq's economic agreement with China was signed in October but its details are still a mystery, providing fodder for conspiracy theories and potential legal objections.
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.
