China Joins Race To Arm Iraq

Erbil and Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in Baghdad on Sunday to discuss bilateral relations and the sale of Chinese weapons to Iraq, only three days after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited the country, in part to discuss arms sales to Iraq.
Both visits come as the Iraqi army struggles to contain insurgents in the volatile Sunni-dominated Anbar province, where it has sought the help of local tribal factions, some of whom have chosen to side against the government forces.
In a news conference with his Chinese counterpart, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said the two discussed a number of issues including the purchase of Chinese arms. MORE