The fact that China ultimately gained more oil from the Iraq War than the US is something that nearly no one is aware of.
I want to remove the misconception that the US attacked Iraq primarily to steal its oil before I go on to explain this. It never "took" Iraq's oil, for starters. Some individuals think that the US just flew in and looted Iraq of its oil, much like some nation-state would have done in biblical times. Nowadays, it's far more difficult to get away with those things. In reality, the US bought stakes in certain oil reserves together with other countries and petroleum businesses. It's clear that there was no open dialogue because Iraq was practically forced to sell off some oil reserves, but there is a big difference between that and outright stealing natural resources.
The US's justification for invading Iraq for its oil was likewise very dubious. For American oil consumption, the quantity of oil that Iraq exports is in the low single digits, and it is unlikely that this amount would have been enough to pay for the war (adding to the fact that they would need to pay for the oil anyways). Other reasons existed for sure, but they did not include Iraq's oil.
Therefore, much of the country's oil reserves were left open to international companies following the successful invasion of Iraq. At this point, China entered the picture and bought stakes in several of the biggest oil resources. Though not as much, the US also purchased a sizable amount of interest.
Hopefully, this demonstrates to the public that America's invasion of Iraq wasn't, as many claim, an act of disobedience against the international community in an effort to take oil. Russia, China, Italy, Turkey, and roughly a dozen other nations, as well as their respective oil businesses, supported this invasion.
Thank you,
Eddie