Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
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International Politics Quarterly
Issue 4, 2006
China’s Oil Interest in Africa: A Subject of International Politics
Zha DaojiongSchool of International Studies, Peking UniversityAfrica is an indispensable source of energy supply for China, providing about30% of China’s oil imports in 2005; therefore, securing Africa’s oil while heedingthe intricate international relations on issues such as Darfur has become a crucialsubject of China’s international energy diplomacy.In relations to the three petroleum trading patterns, energy diplomacy can makean effect in three ways: 1) equity oil trade: a government can encourage, allow orforbid the co-investment or co-development of oil companies from a certaincountry according to its strategic concern; on the other hand, the investingcountry can employ this exchange of interest to influence the political andeconomical environment of the resource country in which it invests; 2) long-termsupply contract: though the value of oil is largely determined by global oilmarket, companies inevitably seek political safeguard from the government; agovernment may also lay out settlement conditions of a long-term oil supplycontract; 3) crude oil trade on the international market: a government canexercise an embargo or anti-embargo, and make domestic policy adjustmentsunder an embargo.Africa’s oil supply to China has been on the rise since 1992 when this continentexported crude oil to China for the first time. In 2005, China imported oil fromnine African countries, among which are its biggest suppliers - Angola, Sudan,the Republic of Congo, and Equatorial Guinea. China intends to establish a “BigOil Industry” which will utilize both domestic and foreign resources anddevelop both markets. Based upon this objective, China National PetroleumCompany (CNPC) was founded. Leading the Greater Nile Petroleum OperatingCompany, a consortium that also includes other companies like India's ONGC,
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