CHAD:There is disquiet over the long-term implications of China's policies in Africa, writes Foreign Affairs Correspondent Mary Fitzgeraldin N'Djamena
Behind the reception desk at the Dragon d'Or hotel in Chad's rundown capital hang two clocks. One is set to local time, the other tells the time in Beijing. Outside, the hotel's brash red gates jar with the dun tones of N'Djamena's crumbling French colonial architecture.
The manager, Zhu, came to Chad last year, leaving her husband and child at home in Hubei, a province in central China. "If the hotel goes well, they will join me," she shrugs. "I'm here to do business."
Zhu speaks very little French and no Arabic - the country's two official languages - making communication with Chadians difficult. Instead, she relies on a local teenager with a foot in both worlds. The translator's father is Chadian, his mother Chinese. They met when his father was studying in Beijing. With that kind of background, he admits, the possibilities in Chad right now are endless.
China has big plans for this struggling landlocked country, one of the poorest and least stable pockets of Africa. The last decade has seen China sweep across Africa in search of raw materials to fuel its booming economy. Having invested in more than 27 oil and gas projects in some 14 African countries, China's attention fell on Chad and its oil reserves.
But first Chad had to meet Beijing's requirement for doing business and so last year it became the latest African country to sever ties with Taiwan in a bid to woo China. Things moved quickly after that. China bought the rights to several oil exploration fields in Chad and in January signed loan, debt relief and economic agreements worth $80 million (€54.5 million) with the country.
Last month the China National Petroleum Corporation announced plans to invest in a joint refinery venture with the Chadian government. Analysts believe China would eventually like to connect Chad with the oil pipeline it has built in neighbouring Sudan.
Hundreds of Chinese like Zhu have arrived in Chad's dusty capital, opening restaurants, massage parlours and pharmacies selling traditional Chinese remedies. The city's souks are piled high with synthetic rugs, clothes, blankets and utensils - all made in China. And it's not just in Chad. The Xinhua news agency recently estimated that more than 750,000 Chinese nationals are working or living for extended periods in Africa, reflecting China's deepening economic relationship with the continent, one that amounted to $55 billion in trade last year.
Officials such as Huang Mingyuan, economic and commercial counsellor at the Chinese embassy in N'Djamena, like to describe China's courting of African countries as a "win-win" situation for both sides. "Africa and China are both going through a period of development so we understand each other in ways others may not," he tells The Irish Times. "This is 'south-south' co-operation and both have a lot to gain in terms of development and economic issues. Our philosophy for Africa is 'win-win' based on equality and mutual interests."
In fluent French, Mingyuan outlines what China has earmarked for Chad. There are plans to build badly needed roads, schools and hospitals. Chinese-led projects to set up better telecommunications networks and improve agricultural production have already started. A new cement factory is in the pipeline, as is a specialist malaria centre. Chinese engineers, doctors and technicians will provide the expertise, he says, and Chadians will be given opportunities to study and train in China. More than 60 Chadians have taken up such offers this year.
Mingyuan makes much of the fact China has abolished import duties for Chadian goods, but when pressed on what exactly Chad exports apart from oil, he hesitates before coming up with sesame and cow hide.
For all the talk of mutual benefits and co-operation, however, there are many who question China's way of doing business in Africa, particularly its "no strings attached" approach to economic support, which flies in the face of criteria laid down by institutions such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). "China will not force any country to accept political conditions," Mingyuan confirms. "We respect the independence and sovereignty of these countries. Our policy is not to interfere."
Critics believe China's willingness to deal with unsavoury regimes in countries such as Zimbabwe and Sudan undermines efforts to battle corruption and promote human rights and political reform, encouraging states that are refused loans by the IMF and World Bank to look to Beijing instead.
"China offers opportunities without constraints. They don't look at whether a government is corrupt or if it has a poor record on human rights," says one Chadian journalist. "We have a huge problem with corruption here and the risk with Chinese involvement is that corruption will grow because there are no controls."
There are other concerns. "When the Chinese come here, they bring everything with them," says Beatrice Dina, a clerk in N'Djamena. "Chinese companies bring their own workers and materials. They have flooded our shops and markets with cheap Chinese products, making it hard for local businesses to compete."
Nydia Huang is a manager at N'Djamena's Hotel Chez Wou, one of a chain of Taiwanese-owned hotels spread across Africa. She acknowledges many of the hotel employees are Chinese. "Why? Because they are cheaper and they work harder than anyone else." The disquiet over the long-term implications of China's policies in Africa is not just confined to Chad. Last year, South African president Thabo Mbeki cautioned African countries against falling into a "colonial relationship" with China. He warned that if Africa simply exported raw materials to China while importing Chinese manufactured goods, the continent could be "condemned to underdevelopment".
This, he added, would just be a "replication" of the relationship Africa had in the past with its colonial powers.
For now, however, many young Chadians see China as a land of opportunity. "My friend went to China to work and study," says Mahamat Hissein (29). "When he came back he got a job as a manager. When I have saved enough money, I will be going to China too."