Has the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced its surprise in Iraq because of the development path project?
A picture attached to a text circulated on social media platforms claiming it was a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman saying: "We do not know the reason for Iraq going to the path of development and distancing itself from the Chinese silk project, which makes Iraq the heart of the commercial world linking Asia and Europe, and what is the interest in that?"
The truth:
The attached picture is fabricated, as the news template of the (CGTN Arabic) Facebook page has been modified, by placing a fake description instead of the original text of the statement of the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman (Mao Ning), during her press conference on May 24, 2023, in response to Remarks by the Prime Minister of Cambodia.
As the original news reads: "Over three-quarters of countries around the world have joined this initiative, which has generated 420,000 jobs in these countries and helped more and more countries speed up economic growth."
As for the news, it is fake, as there is no source confirming that (Mao) made a similar statement, as the official website of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs was reviewed, as well as the official accounts of her spokeswoman on social media platforms. We did not find any similar statement recently. Also, it was not covered by the Chinese or Iraqi media, including CGTN Arabic, which was alleged to have reported the news.
In the same context, the Chinese Ambassador to Iraq (Cui Wei) confirmed on Thursday, June 1, 2023, that "the development project is very important for Iraq, and it will be the path to peace and prosperity in the region, and it will become a complement to the Belt and Road initiative." This is according to a statement by the media office of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, after meeting with the Chinese ambassador.
It is noteworthy that yesterday, Friday, June 2, 2023, we published a detailed article that talked about the historical stations of the Silk Road project in Iraq between reality and political statements.