Is China Recreating the British Empire?

Many observers think the Chinese government is trying to recreate the British Empire. For example, Oil Price writer Simon Watkins compares Chinese commercial expansion in Iraq to the British East India Company’s conquest of India.

Chinese companies are taking over Iraqi oil production with government backing, Watkins notes. For example, a consortium of Chinese companies, including PowerChina and Norinco, are building the Al-Faw refinery in Southern Iraq. When complete, the Al-Faw Refinery could produce 300,000 barrels of oil a day at Iraq’s Faw Port.