Bjørn Brandtzæg, Common Cause, Different Approaches: China and Norway in Nigeria, ECON-Research Report no. 2008-014, 27. february 2008.
 
Document disponible sur le site de Extractive Industries Tanparency Initiative (EITI) à http://eitransparency.org/fr/node/318.
 
Document : 
 

p. 21-22

 
Observing China's presence in Africa today would reveal tendencies similar to those of western powers that used to be characterised as "imperialist". 
 
First, while China was the largest oil-exporter in Asia, it became a net importer of oil in 1993. It is projected that by 2045, China will depend on imported oil for 4.5 per cent of its energy needs. With its 2006 GDP growth of 10.7 per cent, China is determined to get, by all means, the resources it would need to sustain its soaring economy, and is taking its quest to lock down sources of oil and other critical raw materials across the globe. Following the September 11, 2001 attacks and the subsequent upheavals throughout the Middle East, China has turned toward Africa, another major oil producing region. China has adopted an "aid-for-oil-strategy" that has resulted in increasing supplies of oil from African countries. 
 
Second, the need to find resources is now the driving force of Chinese foreign policy. Beijing now encourages its state-controlled companies to seek out exploration and supply contracts with countries that produce oil, gas and other critical resources, while aggressively courting the governments of these countries with diplomacy, trade deals, debt cancellations, and aid packages. The strategy appears to be working, as China is known to have gained access to key resources around the globe, including gold in Bolivia, coal in the Philippines, copper in Chile, natural gas in Australia, and, of course, oil from Africa. To date, China has oil partnerships in Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, Angola and Gabon, and is exploring a potential collaboration in Kenya. 
 
Third, what characterises the current relationship between China and Africa is, essentially, trade and economic activity. Behind the US and France, and ahead of Britain, China is today Africa's third most-important trading partner. Sino-African trade grew by 700 per cent during the 1990s; and between 2002 and 2003, it doubled to USD 18.5 billion, and nearly doubled again to USD 32.17 billion in 2006. Most of the growth was due to increased Chinese imports of oil from Sudan and other African nations. 
 
Fourth, China is building its relationship with Africa through integrated packages of aid that lead to business opportunities and market share for Chinese companies. For example, in Angola which currently exports 25 per cent of its oil production to China, Beijing has secured a major stake in future oil production, with a USD 2 billion package of loans and aid that includes funds for Chinese companies to build railroads, schools, roads, hospitals, bridges, and offices; lay a fiber-optic network; and train Angolan telecommunications workers. In other words, China is following a very traditional path established by Europe, Japan and the US to offer countries comprehensive and profitable trade deals combined with "aid". 
 
Fifth, there seems to be a link between China's interest in oil and arms sales. Selling arms to African countries helps China cement relationships with African leaders and helps offset the costs of buying oil from them. Beijing sees Africa as a growth market for its military hardware. Beijing exerts strong central control over its arms exports, which it uses as a foreign policy tool. By sending military trainers to African countries where it is actively involved in oil exploration activity, China gains important African allies in the United Nations (Sudan, Zimbabwe) for its political goals, including preventing Taiwan's independence and diverting attention from its own poor human rights record. 
 
Sixth, China sells weapons worth billions of dollars to several African countries. The countries include: Sudan, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Burundi, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. Experts say any military air presence exercised by the government in Sudan, including the helicopter gun ships reportedly used to terrorise civilians in Darfur, comes from China.