-China is interested in energy sources all around the world but primarily Africa which accounts for 10% of the world’s oil production. Africa is also where the most recent oil reserve finds have occurred.
-Chinese businesses are very active in the continent of Africa and use their rapid economic growth to entice African leaders by saying not only they would receive not just an oil contract, but they would also build infrastructure such as telecommunication systems, railway systems, and even ports. This is something that companies like BP or TOTAL oil cannot do. This has allowed China to dominate the African continent because they can play by an entire separate set of rules. Their nationalized oil corporations that are part of the Chinese government can offer and provide more of an enticing economic offers to developing African nations than private corporations can.
-in 2003 Chad joined the oil producers club, and with the rising price of oil they have enjoyed a financial windfall , generating nearly 1 billion in revenue in the year 2005 alone, yet their people remain some of the poorest people on earth. Assortments of western oil companies, mostly American extract most of Chad’s subterranean oil but that is starting to change. China’s recently signed oil contracts with Chad include the familiar bonus of major projects road construction. But they also include some new bonus that the west cannot provide and that is total guarantee of non interference in political matters. Western companies that are set up through the World Bank must follow certain guidelines such as respect for transparency and democracy or using oil revenue to alleviate poverty.
-this is an example of the problems the west have face with this competition of the Chinese. Africans view the terms the west insists with their contracts as borderline abusive. They view it as in their better interest to side with China and their nationalized oil corporations because they will not interfere in their internal political affairs and the west will demand certain terms of transparency and human rights when they also actively or passively support many dictatorships and rouge states around the world. This presents the image that the west will use African contacts to promote western imperialism in the continent which Africans are all but thrilled of the idea of being under western imperialism again.
-Western corporations are not only loosing every new African contracts signed but are now loosing ones they traditionally occupied. This is a major threat to primarily the United States but also her European and democratic allies.
-This new Chinese influence all over the entire world could also make the communist Chinese governments system more appealing than the capitalistic United States and democratic system less appealing. The capitalist way of doing business has done nothing to improve the conditions of African nations or the people that live in them. China builds schools and water towers and infrastructure and is rapidly winning favor with African governments and people alike.