Business | Opinion
China is facing backlash in Africa
Chinese state companies have been expanding across the African continent in pursuit of raw materials at an accelerating pace and with apparently far less attention to risk than some of their western peers.
- Financial Times
- Published: 00:00 April 29, 2007
Chinese state companies have been expanding across the African continent in pursuit of raw materials at an accelerating pace and with apparently far less attention to risk than some of their western peers.
Their push for minerals and mineral rights began in southern Sudan where the Chinese oil company CNOOC began building oil pipelines in the late 1990s, long before separatist rebels had struck a deal with the Khartoum regime to end decades of civil war.
But despite the ever-greater presence of Chinese workers in far-flung corners of Africa - working on roads, mines, pipelines and other projects - there have been relatively few reported incidents in which they have fallen victim to violence or been ensnared in the complex realities of localised conflicts.
Last week's attack on an oil exploration site in eastern Ethiopia in which nine Chinese were killed and at least five more taken hostage, was the single deadliest incident involving the Chinese in Africa to date. At least 65 Ethiopians were also killed in the attack.
It underlines the potential for a backlash against China's involvement on the continent where this can be compromised by a reliance on regimes with poor human rights records and enemies among their own people.
Chinese workers have been attacked in southern Sudan before. Their response has sometimes been to send in their own armed men to reinforce protection by the host regime.
A foreign expert on Sino- African relations said it was likely they would react similarly to last week's massacre in the Ogaden area of Ethiopia, where the Zhongyuan Petroleum Exploration Bureau, a division of Sinopec, China's largest petrochemicals producer, was subtracted to Malaysia's Petronas to explore parts of the remote region on the border with Somalia.
"The Chinese are like the west was 100 years ago. They come in, make deals with the local bosses and then bring the guns," he said. They are less preoccupied with safety, he added, because the companies are unlikely to face big compensation claims from the families of victims.
The expert said Ethiopia's involvement in neighbouring Somalia, where it has been fighting Islamist insurgents since it invaded Somalia in December has left the government army exposed in parts of Ethiopia where it faces a host of minor separatist movements. "They are bogged down in Somalia and this has opened a window of opportunity for the ONLF," the expert said.
An ONLF official told the FT yesterday that the Chinese workers who were killed in Tuesday's attack were not specifically targeted. "They were caught in the crossfire," Abderahman Mahdi claimed by phone.
Share this article
More from Business Opinion
More from Business
Popular in Business
-
XPRESS
Way to go this DSF
A fun-filled route to guide you to all the happening dos in town
Business Editor's choice
-
Hamdan opens interior design expo
Index 2009 will feature 1,000 exhibitors from 47 nations
-
Marina Residence handovers begin
Despite talk of oversupply, Palm Jumeirah's latest apartments come online.
-
Travel insurance offers peace of mind
The wisest thing to do is to take out travel insurance before you leave.
