von William Wallis (London)
FTD.de, 22.05.2007
China’s funding to Africa is becoming increasingly controversial.
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 struck a deal with the Khartoum regime to end decades of civil war.
Despite the growing presence of Chinese workers in far-flung corners of Africa there have been relatively few reports of them falling victim to violence or becoming ensnared in localised conflicts.
The recent attack on an oil exploration site in eastern Ethiopia in which nine Chinese were killed was the deadliest incident to date involving the Chinese in Africa. At least 65 Ethiopians were also killed in the attack. It underlines the potential for a backlash against China’s dealings in Africa, especially where it is involved with regimes with poor rights records and which are under attack from armed opponents.
In recent years China has ploughed billions of dollars into Africa, mostly in its pursuit of raw materials to fuel its industrial boom. This year in Ethiopia alone, China had recently offered concessional loans worth $500m and a further $1.5bn towards telecoms infrastructure.
As elsewhere on the continent this funding is controversial. It has helped plug a shortfall in aid after western donors scaled back support to Ethiopia in response to human rights abuses following elections in 2005.
The Ogaden National Liberation Front, which carried out the recent attack, and has been fighting for independence for their remote region bordering Somalia for years, has repeatedly warned foreign oil companies to leave the area, where oil was first discovered in small quantities in the 1970s.
An ONLF official claimed that the Chinese workers who were killed were not specifically targeted. But he did say that the people of his region were disappointed at China’s failure to seek their permission to work in the area. “The Chinese used to be more populist. Now they are turning into colonialists,” he said.
Chinese companies have also been attacked in Sudan. Their response has sometimes been to send in their own armed men to reinforce protection by the host regime.
“The Chinese are like the west was 100 years ago. They come in, make deals with the local bosses and then bring the guns,” a foreign expert on Sino-African relations said.