This analysis and commentary piece, while it speaks of events earlier in the week and month, was published today in the People's Daily. Apparently China has reason to believe it will not be excluded from reconstruction contracts in Iraq.
On December 23, US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld indicated that the Pentagon didn't prohibit China from participating in Iraq's postwar reconstruction. But earlier, US attitude was not like this. On December 9, US Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz issued a memorandum, declaring that the United States would prohibit those countries which opposed the Iraq War from participating in the activities of bidding for Iraq's reconstruction, China was then in the 'black list'. On December 15, US President George W. Bush again announced the list of countries that could participate in the bidding for the contract worth US$18.6 billion for Iraq's reconstruction, again China was not in the name list. For a while, whether China could participate in Iraq's reconstruction became a topic of concern to the people.
This commentary goes on at some length to explain the background of already contracted obligations pre-war Iraq had with Chinese firms, and then continues explaining the situation of the moment and what China reasonably expects it to be in the near future. It is well worth reading in the People's Daily...
