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Fuelling the Dragon: China's Rise and Its Energy and Resources Extraction in Africa*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 September 2009

Wenran Jiang
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Abstract

China's rapidly expanding role in Africa as an energy and resource extractor reveals much of the dynamics and complexities of its growing ties with the continent. Rather than studying the subject in the framework of bilateral interactions, as most existing literature does, this article explores the impact of China's domestic development process on the behaviour of Chinese foreign policy and business operations in Africa. Based on the author's extensive field research in Africa and China, the article argues that much of what the Chinese government, Chinese companies and individual entrepreneurs are doing today in Africa is an externalization of China's own modernization experiences in the past three decades. China's interactions with African countries are reflective of its own development contradictions, and major patterns of Chinese behavour in Africa can be attributed to complex motivations and objectives of the actors involved.

Type
Research Article
Information
The China Quarterly , Volume 199 , September 2009 , pp. 585 - 609
Copyright
Copyright © The China Quarterly 2009

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References

1 For recent studies of China–Africa relations, see Alden, Chris, Large, Daniel and de Oliveira, Ricardo Soares (eds.), China Returns to Africa: A Rising Power and a Continent Embrace (London: Hurst & Co., 2008)Google Scholar; Alden, Chris, China in Africa (London: Zed Books Ltd., 2007)Google Scholar; Broadman, Harry G., “Chronology of China–Africa relations,” China Report, Vol. 43, No. 3 (2007), pp. 363–73Google Scholar.

2 See for example, de Oliveira, Ricardo Soares, “Making sense of Chinese oil investment in Africa,” in Alden et al., China Returns to Africa, pp. 83–109Google Scholar.

3 See for example, Frynas, Jedrzej George and Paulo, Manuel, “A new scramble for African oil? Historical, political, and business perspectives?” African Affairs, Vol. 106, No. 423 (2007), pp. 229–51CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Yi-Chong, Xu, “China and the United States in Africa: coming conflict or commercial coexistence?” Australian Journal of International Affairs, Vol. 62, No. 1 (2008), pp. 16–37CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

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5 In this regard, some contend that China's interactions with Africa have been a dynamic process, highly volatile, with policy modifications and changes that have demonstrated a “learning curve.” See Daniel Large, “From non-interference to constructive engagement? China's evolving relations with Sudan,” in Chris Alden et al., China Returns to Africa (and his contribution in this issue on China–Sudan relations).

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13 Author's calculations based on data from Chinese customs.

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17 Based on China's average oil consumption rate in 2007, from Christopher Flavin, “State of the world 2005 global security brief #1: oil price surge threatens economic stability and national security,” World Watch Institute (2004), available at http://www.worldwatch.org/node/75, accessed 28 December 2008.

18 Taylor, “China's Oil Diplomacy in Africa.”

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21 Based on the author's interviews with numerous Chinese officials in Beijing and in a number of African countries throughout 2008.

22 Based on author's interviews with government officials in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo on 11 September 2008, and in Libreville, Gabon on 18 September 2008. See also remarks by the Hon. Festus Mogae, former president of Botswana at the conference of “Digging for peace: private companies and emerging economies in zones of conflict, November 11, 2008,” http://www.bicc.de/events/resource_conference/program.php, accessed 12 December 2008.

23 See Ana Cristina Alves, “Chinese economic diplomacy in Africa: the Lusophone strategy,” in Chris Alden et al., China Returns to Africa; also see Power, Marcus and Mohan, Giles, “New African choices? The politics of Chinese engagement,” Review of African Political Economy, No. 115 (2008) pp. 23–42Google Scholar; and Broadman, Africa's Silk Road.

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26 Based on the author's field research trips to Africa and China.

27 Martin Clark, “Chinese companies: willing to go where Western companies fear to tread,” Financial Times, 28 January 2008; Andrew Malone, “How China's taking over Africa, and why the West should be VERY worried,” Daily Mail, 18 July 2008. For the most sensational accusation is that the Chinese are turning African into its new slave empire see Peter Hitchens, “How China has created a new slave empire in Africa,” Daily Mail, 28 September 2008.

28 The figure in 2007 is US$79.86 billion, from COMTRADE statistics.

29 The PRC State Council Information Office, “China new opportunity – energy: comment on hot energy problems of China,” Beijing, May 2005.

30 Zhang, Gang (CNOOC (Africa) Limited), “Waiguo shiyou gongsi zai Feizhou de jingzheng qushi fenxi” (“Analysis of foreign oil companies competition trends in Africa”) Guoji shiyou jingji (International Petroleum Economy), No. 3 (2007)Google Scholar.

31 Angelo Izama, “Bring China on board,” The Monitor, 20 June 2007.

32 “Angola calls off Sinopec oil investment,” China Economic Review, 8 March 2007.

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34 Author's interview with a CEO of Chinese firm based in South Africa with operations in both Angola and Zimbabwe. Johannesburg, South Africa, 13 September 2008.

35 One of the key reasons cited for the Sudanese operations by Chinese NOCs is that China will not back out after establishing itself, and the situation in Darfur may even turn worse if the Chinese pack up and head home. See Wei Wang, “Zhongshiyou zouchuqu: fengxian nengyuan, huli gongying” (“CNPC going out: contributing energy, mutual beneficiality, and a win-win outcome”) Renmin ribao (People's Daily), 13 July 2007.

36 “International society should help Darfur people as China has: Sudan ambassador,” Xinhua News Agency, 20 March 2008.

37 Ibid.

38 Chen Aizhu, “Sudan doubles crude exports to China In 2007,” Reuters, 22 January 2008.

39 R. Scott Greathead, “Moving China on Darfur,” The Wall Street Journal, 6 November 2007.

40 Clark, “Chinese companies: willing to go where Western companies fear to tread.”

41 David Blair, “Oil seals friendship for China and ‘rogue’ Sudan,” The Daily Telegraph, 2 February 2007.

42 Lindsay Beck, “Sudan official cautions China on oil investment,” Reuters, 17 May 2007.

43 Clark, “Chinese companies: willing to go where Western companies fear to tread,”

44 Blair, “Oil seals friendship for China and ‘rogue’ Sudan.”

45 For more details on the CNOOC-Unocal case, see Jiang, Wenran, “The Unocal bid: China's treasure hunt of the century,” China Brief, Vol. 5, No. 16 (2005)Google Scholar.

46 Interview in Vancouver, Canada, 12 December 2008.

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50 Clarissa Oon, “China takes direct approach to secure oil,” Straits Times, 29 April 2006.

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52 Wang Zhen, presentation at a special seminar on Chinese NOCs abroad, University of Alberta, 6 August 2008. For details, see p. 155 of Trevor Houser, “The roots of Chinese oil investment abroad,” The National Bureau of Asian Research Analysis, 18 March 2007, http://nbr.org/publications/asia_policy/AP5/AP5_Houser.pdf, accessed 28 July 2008.

53 For an example, see “Sinopec beats ONGC, gets Angola block,” Financial Express, 14 July 2006.

54 According to data complied by the author.

55 Chinese NGOs are still weak and their existence is dependent on the approval of the state apparatus. They are normally registered as part of an institutional attachment to a government body. And the NGO developments in Africa are very uneven. Although in Gabon NGOs play a strong role, the same cannot be said for DRC or many other African states.

56 “China's Sinopec provokes conservation uproar in Gabon,” Agence France Presse, 28 September 2006.

57 See for example, Christoher Burke, Lucy Corkin and Nastasya Tay, “China's engagement of Africa: preliminary scoping of African case studies. Angola, Ethiopia, Gabon, Uganda, South Africa, Zambia,” research undertaking prepared for the Rockefeller Foundation, Centre for Chinese Studies, Stellenbosch University, 2007, p. 95.

58 Author's interview, 18 September 2008, Libreville.

59 Author's interview, 18 September and interview by the author's research team member, 22 September 2008, Libreville.

60 Author's interview, 18 September 2008, Libreville. For more information on EITI, visit the initiative's website at: http://eitransparency.org.

61 Author's interview, 18 September 2008, Libreville.

62 Interview by the author's research team member, 23 September 2008, Libreville.

63 Interview by the author's research team member, 23 September 2008, Libreville.

64 Ian Verrender, “The resources boom that fuelled prosperity is now a bust,” Sydney Morning Herald, 9 December 2008; “The commodity super cycle isn't looking so super these days,” Business Day (South Africa), 30 August 2008.

65 These observations are derived from the author's interviews with Chinese policy makers and academics since 2006.

66 See Jiang, Wenran, “China's emerging strategic partnership in Africa” “Chinese inroads in DR Congo: a Chinese ‘Marshall plan’ or business?” China Brief, Vol. 9, No. 1 (2009)Google Scholar. See also Tables 1, 4 and 5 in this article.