While America has spent thousands of lives and trillions of dollars – as well as put untold amounts of stress upon its military – the Chinese have spent only patience. After the surge of ‘07-’08, Muqtada Al-Sadr finally extended the cease-fire indefinitely, which has reduced Iraqi violence substantially. China, one of the nations most strongly opposing the invasion, has simply waited for the violence to die down before striking the first oil deal with Iraq. For the fixed fee of $3 billion, China has 20 years of drilling rights to the Ahdab oil field, which comes with an expected yield ramping up to 125,000 barrels of oil per day. The spokesman for the Iraqi Oil Ministry hopes this first contract, "will refute all the rumors that say the American companies are the only ones benefiting from the American occupation."