tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189930829940284211.post92843298156858989..comments2012-01-18T07:07:10.188-05:00Deborah Brautigamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03141925702416939602noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189930829940284211.post-36781453006088851142012-01-18T07:07:10.188-05:002012-01-18T07:07:10.188-05:00I was in Ethiopia at the time of the 2007 attacks by the ONLF - there was initial confusion as the Chinese ambassador claimed that the Chinese company would not be deterred as a result of insecurity, but the company had actually already left, even leaving behind all their equipment. The CEO of Southwest Energy is indeed correct, the Chinese company ZPEB was hired as a sub-contractor to do the seismic survey. The attack was understood to be targeted at a company perceived to be directly related to the Ethiopian government, rather than out of any particular anti-Chinese sentiment. It was also expressed that its possible that ZPEB would have been directed to stay by the Chinese government (with the view to accessing future exploration and production investments) had it not been widely believed that there wasn&#39;t actually any oil to discover. An alternative view is that the Chinese companies themselves may not act in accordance with government directives if the situation is viewed to be too insecure. The Chinese manager of the company working on the glass factory said although his company also had a construction and exploration branch, he would not allow them to work in the Ogaden region due to high levels of insecurity.Laura Barbernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189930829940284211.post-54851045002182302462012-01-06T17:06:37.771-05:002012-01-06T17:06:37.771-05:00&quot;King Cobra and the Dragon: As China increases its economic ties in Africa, has the continent entered a new era of colonialism?&quot;<br /><br />http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/peopleandpower/2012/01/20121484624797945.htmlempireofpassionnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189930829940284211.post-20714522536858047422012-01-06T06:17:43.871-05:002012-01-06T06:17:43.871-05:00Thanks Deborah for these interesting new posts!Johanna Janssonhttp://www.ruc.dk/~johannajnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189930829940284211.post-60067457819929349632012-01-05T04:37:30.301-05:002012-01-05T04:37:30.301-05:00This Al Jazeera film on China and Zambia may be of interest: <br />http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/peopleandpower/2012/01/20121484624797945.htmlAlicenoreply@blogger.com