China exports to Iraq top $17B

Shafaq News– Baghdad

China’s exports to Iraq exceeded $17 billion in 2025, marking a 57% increase compared with 2020, raising warnings that Iraq could face a trade deficit within the next few years if import growth continues to outpace exports.

In a report released on Friday, the Iraq Future Foundation for Economic Studies and Consultations said official data from China’s General Administration of Customs show that direct Chinese exports to Iraq rose from $10 billion in 2020 to more than $17 billion last year.

The foundation’s head, economist Manar Al-Obaidi, noted that the surge in imports has coincided with a decline in Iraqi exports, particularly crude oil. According to the report, Iraq’s oil exports to China fell to about $34 billion in 2025. While Iraq still maintains a trade surplus with China, Al-Obaidi warned that the growing gap between rising imports and declining export revenues could push the trade balance into deficit territory by 2029 unless corrective measures are taken.

He stressed that avoiding such an outcome would require expanding and diversifying Iraqi exports, alongside localizing domestic industries capable of replacing some imported goods, in order to preserve a favorable trade balance.