During his recent visit through five African nations, President Bush put continued pressure on China to stop trade with the Sudanese. While in Africa, Bush agreed to finance a 100 million dollar peacekeeping mission in Darfur. Bush was adament that "human suffering ought to preempt commercial interests." This statement was viewed by many to be a direct jab at the Chinese Government for their continued business with the Sudanese even in the midst of extreme human rights violations.
Since China is looking to 'diversify' their exports and build facilities near the raw materials, it seems only natural that they would begin courting African nations. (Shirk, 134) The African courtship by the Chinese government went into overdrive in 2005 and 2006 was coined the "Year of Africa" amongst Beijing officials. (Shirk, 134) Chinese officials seeking to secure their global position as a 'responsible power' claim to be well aware of the human rights violations in the Sudan. According to officials, they are 'working behind the scenes' with the Sudanese Government to make improvements. China frowns on the US for being so quick to pass judgment on the nations they choose to do business with. According to many Chinese officials, the US already has a monopoly on the regions that are rich with resources and deemed 'acceptable' to the rest of the world. Therefore, China has no other choice but to look to regions like the Sudan to meet their growing oil needs.
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In November 5-6 2007, there was a huge Sino-African Summit in Beijing, which brought representatives from 48 African nations to the city. By the end of the summit the Beijing government had offered new foreign aid package worth $5 billion dollars to several of the visiting delegations.
Ties with African nations are much less politically driven these days. Through the late 1980s China was engaged in a foreign relations “tug of war” with the ROC government in Taiwan, which at the time was much wealthier and had the attention of many African heads of state. Today it’s much more about securing strategic sources of necessary resources and making business deals.
The big news for residents of Beijing that November was the ban on government vehicles and the improved traffic situation. That improvement lasted for about two seconds after the last busload of delegates left their hotels for the airport!
Nice job with your posts, Cassie.
Jamie Anderson
China also does not attach excessive weight to hypocrites, even though they share the talent for that. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black! If Bush had a track record for putting human suffering above corporate and economic interests, he might have some credibility. It is true that China has to turn to what we perceive as the "bad guys" for oil given that they have so few options. We do that too. I don't think many Americans will view either Saudi Arabia or Venezuela as a saint. As a geologist, I have long noted how nature disregards political boundaries. The oil is where it is for purely geological reasons - nothing else. Maybe Mother Nature is trying to tell us something. Steve
Very good post, Cassie!
The Chinese are most likely about as concerned with human rights issues in Sudan as I am about what Brad Pitt uses on his hair.
They need the oil, so they'll get it it where they can and not worry about the provider's internal concerns as long as the oil keeps flowing.
Of course, the US would never engage in this sort of thing. Oh, wait...
AS the Olympics draw near many athletes are lining up to use this forum to vocalize their concern about the Darfur situation. Of course, Stephen Spielberg has already withdrawn as artistic consultant to register his protest.The Chinese, as usual, took a day to craft a response of annoyance and to deem his actions as silly. If the Olympics do become a political hotseat it will be interesting to see how the Chinese handle the fallout.
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