More conflict to come.......
http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article21563
April 25, 2007 (BEIJING) — China voiced outrage on Wednesday over a rebel attack in Ethiopia that killed nine Chinese oil workers, but the assault, which also cost the lives of 65 Ethiopians, was unlikely to dim Beijing’s interest in the resource-rich African continent.
More than 200 rebel fighters stormed a Chinese-run oil field in eastern Ethiopia on Tuesday, destroying an exploration facility, killing 74 people, and kidnapping seven Chinese. The rebel Ogaden National Liberation Front claimed responsibility.
China’s Foreign Ministry condemned the raid, the deadliest in a string of assaults on Chinese in Africa, calling it "an atrocious armed attack." The embassy in Addis Ababa said efforts were being made to rescue the hostages and that remaining Chinese staff were being evacuated.
The shootings underline the risks that big oil companies face when drilling for oil in Africa even when they have the support of the host country. China has used soft loans and aid to woo African governments and secure greater access for its state-owned oil giants to valuable oil assets.
Oil imports from Africa are highly prized by Beijing because they help to reduce China’s reliance on crude oil from the instability-prone Middle East.
Sinopec, the state-owned parent company of Zhongyuan Petroleum Exploration Bureau, which operates the oil field targeted in Ethiopia, said it was undeterred by the attack.
"There is no way we would stay away from Africa due to the fear of risk," a Sinopec spokesman said on routine condition of anonymity.
"This is not a game for us. We will try to improve security in the future, but there is no way we will withdraw from our projects there," he said.
The attack was also unlikely to prompt divestment of other Chinese interests in Africa but may force Beijing into a deeper level of engagement with its African trading partners, analysts said.
"This incident will not have a major influence on China’s investment in Africa," said Shi Yinhong, a professor of international relations at Renmin University in Beijing.
"It’s possible that China may use its influence and business leverage to make the African governments offer more effective protection of China’s economic interests," he added.
Chinese companies have expanded their presence in Africa despite simmering anger among some Africans over cheap Chinese goods that are undercutting their local industries and the perception that Beijing’s attention is a neocolonial resource grab.
China calls the relationship a "win-win" partnership and rejects accusations of colonialism. The government has taken pains to emphasize respect for its African trade partners, sending frequent high-level delegations on tours of the region. Chinese President Hu Jintao has gone twice in the past two years, emphasizing a blend of trade and aid.
Beijing has, however, resisted using its leverage in the past to lean on governments like Sudan.
As a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, China has been accused of turning a blind eye to the conflict in Sudan’s Darfur region, which erupted in 2003 when ethnic African rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated central government, accusing it of neglect.
China buys two-thirds of Sudan’s oil exports and sells the African country weapons and military aircraft.
But if China’s business interests and citizens in Africa are increasingly caught in the crossfire of homegrown disputes, Beijing may be pushed into a more active role in the continent’s political affairs, said June Teufel Dreyer, a professor of Political Science at the University of Miami.
"I think they have never been uninvolved but this is a good reason to nudge them forward to more involvement," she said.
The attack Tuesday was the first against a foreign company in Ethiopia but one of a string of attacks against Chinese this year in other parts of Africa. Sixteen Chinese nationals were kidnapped in Nigeria this year in three separate incidents, while in January, gunmen in Kenya killed one Chinese engineer and injured another working on a highway project.
"The stakes are too high for them" to be scared away from doing business in Africa, said Teufel Dreyer. "They need energy, they need markets and there are places there for Chinese merchants."
Trade between China and Africa has soared fourfold this decade, to US$40 billion in 2005. But Beijing has also become a major supplier of aid, last year announcing US$10 billion in assistance from 2006 to 2009.
(AP)
