What’s at Stake for China in Chad Following the Unexpected Death of President Idriss Deby?

News that Mahamat Kaka, son of late Chadian President Idriss Deby who was killed on Monday in fighting near the Libyan border, has been named interim leader will likely be well received at the headquarters of the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) in Beijing.

China’s strategic interests in Chad are almost exclusively focused on oil, specifically the billions of dollars that CNPC has invested over the years to develop Chadian oil fields, build new pipelines, and refining capacity. As of 2018, the company increased its production output in Chad to 4 million tons per year and completed the construction of 310 kilometers of pipelines that transports crude to the CNPC-built N’Djamena refinery.

It may or may not be a coincidence that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi repeated Beijing’s calls for enhanced security efforts in the region during a UN Security Council debate on Monday, the same day that Deby was killed. As of 2019, China has been a key financial supporter of the G5 Sahel Rapid Reaction Force.

Given China’s rather extensive oil interests throughout the Sahel region, in Niger, Chad, and, once again in Libya now that it has regained some stability under its new Government of National Unity, Beijing will likely be more active in the coming weeks campaigning for additional resources to support multinational peacekeeping and stability operations in the Sahel.

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The post What’s at Stake for China in Chad Following the Unexpected Death of President Idriss Deby? appeared first on The China Africa Project.



source https://chinaafricaproject.com/2021/04/21/whats-at-stake-for-china-in-chad-following-the-unexpected-death-of-president-idriss-deby/

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