A major Chinese telecom firm has won an over $5 million contract in post-war Iraq, despite facing "some resistance" from the US-led provincial authority, the state media reported on Tuesday.
After some six months of difficult negotiations, Zhongxing Telecom Co has recently signed a contract with Iraqi Ministry of Communication to supply telecommunications equipment to Iraq, Xinhua news agency reported.
Commenting on the breakthrough, ZTE's project manager Dong Baoping said, "After all, Chinese communications equipment is of high quality and enjoys a good reputation in Iraq. Even before the war, ZTE was one of Iraq's main suppliers in the sector."
Based in Shenzhen city in south China's Guangdong province, ZTE ranks among China's largest telecom manufacturers.
"On the one hand, the Iraqis themselves wished to continue working with China but on the other the coalition provisional authority seemed to spare no effort in its desire to see all contracts go to American companies," Dong claimed.