ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - China’s consul general to Erbil, Liu Jun, said on Sunday that Beijing plans to start issuing tourist visas in the Kurdistan Region in the near future, expanding its visa services beyond the current business visa offerings.

“We focus on the business visa, we did not issue any tourist visa here. But this year… we are going to issue tourist visas very soon,” Jun told Rudaw’s Payam Sarbast.

Asked why China has yet to establish any schools in the Kurdistan Region as a part of the 1,000-school construction program it began implementing in Iraq in June 2022, Jun said that “so far there is not even one school [established] in the Kurdistan Region because the project is an agreement between the Iraqi government and the Chinese government.”

He added that the Iraqi federal government is the only side that decides where the schools are constructed.

“The federal government paid all the costs for these new schools. So the Chinese companies, they are only responsible for constructing these schools,” he explained. “We have no involvement in the decision-making, so, where should the school be built? That is the job of the federal government. I believe the KRG could try to … try asking them [federal government] for your portion.”

China’s consulate general in Erbil began constructing a new park in the Kurdistan Region’s capital. The project, which reached 40 percent completion in February. The head of the Park’s engineering team then told Rudaw that the Park is expected to be finished within 90 days.

Beyond infrastructure projects, China remains deeply involved in Iraq’s economic sector.

China’s engagement with Iraq extends beyond infrastructure projects. Chinese Ambassador to Iraq Cui Wei confirmed in mid-January that the trade volume between Beijing and Baghdad has reached $50 billion over the past 11 months, as reported by the state-run Iraqi News Agency.