Reciprocity and win-win result are the cornerstone of China's
cooperation with Africa on energy. The bilateral exchanges go
further than energy. What China does in Africa is absolutely
different from what the West has done and said.
He Wenping, a researcher of the Chinese Academy of Social
Sciences, compared the Sino-African cooperation with the behaviors
of Western countries in Africa.
The western media is hyping about China's "predation" of
Africa's oil resources and the so-called "economic colonialism"
there these days. Visits of Chinese leaders' to Africa in a bid to
promote the friendly, reciprocal cooperation between China and
Africa are always labeled as "trip for energy" or "trip for
oil".
It is true that oil import is necessary to fuel the fast growing
economy with a big population. Since 1993 when it became a net oil
importer, China has paced up the diversification process of its
energy supply, which has led to win-win energy partnership with
many countries and regions in the world, including African
nations.
However, China's energy cooperation with Africa does not target
at any third party and is built on mutual demands and double wins,
which is absolutely different from the fire and sword used by
Western colonialists in history.
According to the agreement on oil exploration reached during
Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to Nigeria, two of the four
slices to be exploited by China are located in the oil-rich Niger
River Delta while the other two are in the Chad River area where
the natural condition is bad and has not been developed.
Oil exploitation in that area will not pose any threat to the
interest of European and American oil giants. Instead, it will help
Nigeria prospect and mine maiden oil sources and diversify its
investment. Besides that, China has made commitment of investing
US$4 billion in infrastructure construction and aid of US$5 million
for the purchase of anti-malaria drugs, as well as training
programs for controlling malaria and bird flu.
The five Western giants currently dominate the Nigerian oil
production. A senior member of the Nigerian Institute of
International Affairs said the Western countries are not interested
in the manufacturing sector in his country and focus only on oil
which has strategic significance. He added that those Western oil
companies do not take effective measures to protect the environment
and their exploitation of oil has caused severe pollution to the
local area and worsen the life of the local people.
Cooperation between Chinese companies with the Nigerian side, on
the contrary, goes beyond the energy and extends to agriculture,
infrastructure construction, power and communication. Chinese
plants there help to train local workers and offer products that
local market needs.
In early 2006, the Nigerian government reached a deal with
Guangdong-based New Sun Group on a US$2 billion railway project. In
2005, non-oil exports to China generated more than US$500 million
for Nigeria.
As to China's energy cooperation with Sudan which has been
played up by the Western media, Chinese companies has begun to
participate in the energy development in Sudan since the mid 1990s
and invested US$2.7 billion there by the end of 2003.
It has built 1,506 kilometers of oil pipelines, a plant with
capacity of 2.5 million tons of crude oil annually and scores of
filling stations there. That has turned Sudan, which used to be an
oil importer, to an oil exporter with a vertically integrated oil
industrial system that enables exploitation, production, refining,
transportation and marketing. In addition, china has invested some
US$20 million to build schools and hospitals in Sudan.
As China and Africa are complementary with each other in the
energy field, stronger, reciprocal alliance in energy serves the
interests of both parties and favors the common development.
(People's Daily Online April 30, 2006)
