Sudan, a lesson of Chinese pragmatism

Even before birth, Southern Sudan already had a marked way of life. In its early years, at least, oil will be its survival, along with China. The July 9th it becomes independent and becomes Africa’s 54th state after a devastating 50-year struggle to secede on military camps and, since 2005, armed peace with Sudan to which it belonged. Last January’s referendum has seen 99% of voters stand in favour of an independent state in the disputed region in the south of the country. Boundaries are well attested by the differences between the Christian and animist in the south and the Arab and Islamic people of the desert in the north. Sudan is no longer now the largest state in Africa and is now seeing a reduction in a good part of its population, between 8 and 14 million inhabitants. Such a large uncertainty reflects the underdevelopment of this new country. In the capital, Juba, preparations are underway but the problems are dramatic. The majority of the population live on less than $ 1 a day, the sanitary conditions are very primitive, only three-quarters of adults are illiterate, only 1% of households have a bank account. The country has many problems and only one, double asset: the land and its entrails. The soil is fertile, but agriculture is sufficient only to a meagre subsistence. Automation does not exist, as well as industrial processing of products. Sheep farming prevails with respect to cultivation. Mineral reserves are abundant – iron, gold, chrome – but they are unused and without means of transportation. The only hope for growth is tied to oil and automatically to China. Sudan and southern spine have long negotiated the use of black gold, without arriving to a conclusion. The resource is indeed crucial to their economies. Sixty percent of Khartoum budget is based on oil revenue, the percentage for the southern Sudan is 98%. Most of the drilling takes place in the south, but the pipeline flows to the north at the confluence of Port Sudan terminal. Oil refineries, warehouses, and transport roads are located in the North. All modern equipment for mining, logistics, and storage were built by China, particularly by CPECC state company, and by China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Corporation. The other Beijing giant, China National Petroleum Company, CNPC, holds at least 40% of the Sudanese Great Nile Petroleum Operating Company. Relations between Beijing and Khartoum are excellent, and a few days ago, President Omar Bashir has visited the Chinese capital. China has modernized Sudan when the country was on the edge of the international community. For this reason, the guerrilla war in Southern Sudan, now turned into a government, has always condemned the support of Beijing who wanted to separate from the north. However, without the Chinese, the oil wealth of the south would remain undeveloped, a useless field. As early as conception, the country has established contacts with Beijing, to ensure supplies. In compensation, a commitment for the construction of a hydroelectric plant and an initial infrastructure network was obtained. A triangular design sees two fronts ready for peace and not motivated by economic and political ambitions. China represents the upper vertex, leveraging its expertise in the area and the size of its intervention. The frame continues to be pragmatic and Beijing understands well that tension is not helpful; the best way to avoid friction is to use abundant and direct lubricant, oil.