China has been revealed to be a major player in Iraq’s telecoms and digital infrastructure market, according to a new Atlantic Council report on Beijing’s growing influence in the country.
“China has established an expansive and multisectoral presence in Iraq, spanning energy, telecommunications, consumer markets, and education,” the report revealed, adding that Beijing aims to “deepen Iraq’s economic reliance on China across vital sectors, thereby embedding Beijing’s influence within Iraq’s long-term development trajectory.”
China’s involvement in Iraq’s telecom sector began in the late 1990’s when Zhongxing Telecom Co first entered the country in 1999, when the country remained under international sanctions.
Additionally, the report added: “Huawei began clandestinely building a fibre-optic network for Iraq’s military, which was later bombed during a 2001 US-UK air raid.”
After 2003, Huawei returned through Asiacell, Iraq’s largest mobile operator. By 2011, US officials were already raising concerns.
Robert C. Fonow, a US State Department advisor, said Huawei effectively “owned” Iraq’s telecom sector, claiming it had received “more than six hundred contracts worth billions of dollars- some indirectly financed by US reconstruction funds.”
Additionally, the report revealed Chinese firms remain central to Iraq’s digital growth.
In June 2025, Asiacell and China Mobile International (CMI) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to expand enterprise-level digital services, billed as accelerating Iraq’s digital transformation through CMI’s global expertise.
Huawei also partnered with Iraq’s Communication and Media Commission, Iraq’s top regulatory body in the field, to train personnel in cybersecurity, the report added.
In 2023, Huawei and Asiacell celebrated the 20th anniversary of their “precious partnership” and announced “plans to integrate artificial intelligence into Iraq’s telecom services.”
However, the report also warned that China’s digital presence has security implications.
“Beijing’s digital infrastructure deals, including telecommunications and cybersecurity, could create new vulnerabilities for US-Iraq security cooperation not unlike Huawei’s engagement with Iraq under Hussein,” the report stated.
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