In a piece by Paul French and Sam Chambers, entitled "Oil on Water", the two authors reveal interesting info about China's oil hungry no strings investment in the emerging African oil industry.
As we know, the Chinese government has been very liberal in offering credit and aid on generous terms to oil-producing African nations. China now sources 25-30 percent of its oil imports from Africa, and in 2009, China took 30 % of Angola's total oil exports and 60% of Sudan's output.
China has courted over US$20 billion of aid to African oil nations, and Angola briefly overtook Saudi Arabia as China's major oil supplier. China's oil refining industry is mostly geared to handle sweet crude, which favors African oil over Saudi Arabian's mixture of sweet and crude.
Critics claim that China has unfairly used diplomatic leverage, ignored corruption and conflicts, and done nothing to encourage transparency in the industry, and done little to create jobs in the countries with which it invests. Beijing counters that Americans take more oil from Africa than China does, and through imperialism and business.
Yeah, I think it was in the China Safari book where it says that Chinese investments in Africa are complemented by an influx of Chinese workers who then take up potential job opportunities for the locals...
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