African oil deals quench Beijing's thirst for energy sources
May 2, 2006
By Bogonko Bosire
Nairobi - Chinese president Hu Jintao wrapped up his trip to Africa at the weekend after clinching oil deals that highlighted Beijing's search for fresh energy sources to power its booming economy.
As Hu headed home after a five-nation tour, critics argued that China's demand for energy and other resources was helping unsavoury African governments heavily criticised by the international community.
Under one deal, state-owned oil company Cnooc will explore six blocks off the coast of Kenya, a country grappling with graft. It will also buy a 45 percent share in an oilfield in Nigeria, where oil-related clashes have recently intensified.
Last year China bought 38.47 million tons of African oil, representing about 30 percent of its total imports.
China inked deals to improve the host countries' floundering economies and shoddy infrastructure, prompting a cautious welcome from the Kenyan Standard newspaper.
"This might be an answer for the parsimony and intransigence shown in the recent years by our traditional development partners, who have often used aid as a form of blackmail."
But critics have accused Beijing of doing business with undemocratic regimes, notably Sudan, an oil-rich nation that has for several decades used oil revenues to wage deadly successive wars on dissent.
"When Western governments try to use economic pressure to secure human rights improvements, China's no-strings rule gives dictators the means to resist," said Human Rights Watch's Richard Roth. - Sapa-AFP
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