Ethiopian Attack is Latest Test of China’s Strategy in Africa

Ethiopian Attack is Latest Test of China’s Strategy in Africa

Gunmen launched a brazen pre-dawn raid on an oil field in southern Ethiopia on April 24, killing 65 Ethiopians and nine Chinese workers in their sleep. The attack was the direct result of the spreading instability on the Horn of Africa, where the violence in Somalia following Ethiopia's invasion is bleeding across the border, back into Ethiopia. While the attack was apparently not aimed at China, it highlighted the growing backlash against China across Africa.

As part of Beijing's "Go Abroad" strategy, under which Chinese firms are encouraged to invest around the world to help fuel China's rapidly expanding economy, Chinese oil firms are operating in unstable regions and dealing with regimes too risky for Western oil companies to touch. In Africa, China is the main purchaser of Sudanese oil and has become a major investor in Nigeria, even as Western companies are avoiding further investments there. Similarly, Chinese oil firms took the lead in exploring southern Ethiopia for oil in the face of rebel threats and disputed sovereignty.

Initially, most of the African countries welcomed China's "Go Abroad" investments, but in the past couple of years a backlash has formed against Beijing's policies. Miners in Zambia and textile workers in South Africa have pushed for their governments to take tougher actions against China. In southern Sudan and Nigeria, Chinese workers have come under attack from local rebels. These reactions have caused China to begin a rethink of its official doctrine of "noninterference" in other nations' affairs.

Keep reading for free!

Get instant access to the rest of this article by submitting your email address below. You'll also get access to three articles of your choice each month and our free newsletter:

Or, Subscribe now to get full access.

Already a subscriber? Log in here .

What you’ll get with an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review:

A WPR subscription is like no other resource — it’s like having a personal curator and expert analyst of global affairs news. Subscribe now, and you’ll get:

  • Immediate and instant access to the full searchable library of tens of thousands of articles.
  • Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday.
  • Regular in-depth articles with deep dives into important issues and countries.
  • The Daily Review email, with our take on the day’s most important news, the latest WPR analysis, what’s on our radar, and more.
  • The Weekly Review email, with quick summaries of the week’s most important coverage, and what’s to come.
  • Completely ad-free reading.

And all of this is available to you when you subscribe today.

More World Politics Review