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2018 | OriginalPaper | Buchkapitel

12. China and Liberia: Engagement in a Post-Conflict Country (2003–2013)

verfasst von : Guillaume Moumouni

Erschienen in: China and Africa

Verlag: Springer International Publishing

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Abstract

This chapter examines one of the earliest Chinese efforts at peacekeeping in Africa, that of Liberia, where Beijing found itself unexpectedly playing a major part in peacekeeping and post-conflict reconstruction. China’s involvement ranges from participation in the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) to its social, productive and commercial role in the revival of the country’s fragile socio-economic structures. Both within the framework of UNMIL and at the bilateral level, Beijing has shown itself to be an important stakeholder and development partner in Liberia as in most national post-conflict situations on the African continent.

This multidimensional study focuses on how the need to stabilise a post-conflict country requires going beyond the security pillar and drawing in other pillars such as aid, infrastructure, trade, investment and governance. The chapter begins by exploring the political relations between China and Liberia, then examines the Chinese involvement in UNMIL, analyses various aspects of bilateral relations and concludes by balancing the complex interactions between both actors and making a set of recommendations to address key issues.

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Vorheriges Kapitel China’s New Intervention Policy: China’s Peacekeeping Mission to Mali

Nächstes Kapitel Security Risks facing Chinese Actors in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Case of the Democratic Republic of Congo

L. Gberie (2010), Liberia: The 2011 Elections and Building Peace in the Fragile State, situation report. Pretoria: Institute for Security Studies (ISS), p. 1.

Niels Kahn (2014), ‘US Covert and Overt Operations in Liberia, 1970s to 2003’, ASPJ Africa & Francophonie, 1st quarter, 5:1, p. 19.

Ibid .

R. Goff et al., eds. (1998), The Twentieth Century: A Global Brief History (Boston: McGraw Hill), 5th edition, p. 42.

Personal interview, Mohammed BOS Kenneth, Minister Counsellor at the Liberian Embassy Beijing, 14 January 2009.

Liberia (2005), Resolution No 001 of the 52nd Legislature of the Republic of Liberia Liberian Embassy, ‘Liberia–China Relations’ (Beijing: Liberian Embassy), p. 3.

Snowe was removed from office in January 2007 following a vote of no-confidence for ‘taking an interpreter on a trip without permission and meddling in Liberia’s diplomatic policy on China’. The Supreme Court later overturned Snowe’s removal; he was reinstated on 27 January 2007 only to resign a few weeks later. See ‘Ex-Taylor Ally Sacked as Speaker’, BBC News, 18 January 2007, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6276391.stm, accessed 20 September 2012. See also G. Sneh (2006), ‘The Honourable House Deserves a Better Leader’, The Perspective (Monrovia), 19 July 2006, http://www.theperspective.org/articles/0719200601.html, accessed on 27 December 2007.

Personal interview, George Wisner, Assistant to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, in Charge of Africa–Asia Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Monrovia, 23 November 2010.

International Crisis Group (ICG) (2002), Africa Report No 43 (Brussels: ICG), pp. 1–2.

Ibid , p. 2.

Xinhuanet (2009), Report on ‘Pushing for the construction of a peaceful; prosperous and harmonious world’ (‘Bao gao jie du tui dong jian she chi jiu he ping, gong tong fan rong de he xie shi jie’) http://news.xinhuanet.com/newscenter/2008-01/20/content_7455216.htm, accessed on 12 May 2009. Author’s translation.

This concept is developed further in the author’s forthcoming book on the dialectic of China’s international responsibility and the non-interference principle in Africa.

Yin He (2007), China’s Changing Policy on UN Peacekeeping Operations (Stockholm: Institute for Security and Development Policy (ISDP)), pp. 9–10.

B. Gill and C.–H Huang (2009), China’s Expanding Peacekeeping Role: Its Significance and Policy Implications, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) Policy Brief. (Stockholm: SIPRI), p. 3. Also, Safer World (2011), China’s Growing Role in African Peace and Security (London: Safer World), p. 75.

Safer World, China’s Growing Role in African Peace and Security, London: Safer World, 2011, p. 76.

United Nations Security Council, Resolution 1509 (2003), p. 3.

‘Chinese peacekeeping contingent in Liberia has completed its 14th shift’ (‘zhong guo fu li bi li ya wei he bu dui wan cheng di 14 ci lun huan’), http://military.people.com.cn/n/2013/0725/c1011-22326123.html, accessed on 5 January 2014. See also ‘UN Mission’s Summary Detailed by Country. Month of report: 30 November 2013’.

‘UN envoy meets visiting military delegation from the People’s Republic of China; praises China for contributing military personnel to UNMIL’, http://reliefweb.int/report/liberia/un-envoy-meets-visiting-military-delegation-peoples-republic-china-praises-china., accessed on 10 January 2014.

Based on T. Schweitzer and M Kihlstrōm (2009), ‘Logistics Capacity Assessment’ – Liberia, Version 1.05, p. 49, http://safersurgery.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/liberia-country-assessment.pdf.

A. Kaure (2006), ‘Peacekeepers from China, with Love’, UNMIL Focus, September–November 2006, p. 35.

Safer World, op. cit., p. 75.

Personal interview, Rory Keane, Advisor on Security Sector Reform to the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, UNMIL HQ Monrovia, 24 November 2010.

Personal interview, Mohammed BOS Kenneth, op. cit. A total of 41 students received training 1981–1995; and a further 67 had participated in regular studies by end 2008. Since then China has been offering roughly 70 government scholarships and 200 training opportunities. See also ‘China Outlines Achievements in Liberia’, http://www.thenewdawnliberia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9271:china-outlines-achievements-in-liberia&catid=25:politics&Itemid=59, accessed 4 January 2014.

Calculation based on note 19 above.

Chinese Ambassador Zhou Yuxiao ‘Remarks at the Handover Ceremony of the China-aided Fendell Campus of the University of Liberia’, http://lr.china-embassy.org/chn/dszc/jianghua/t718566.htm.

Personal interview, Chinese Ambassador to Monrovia, Zhou Xiaoyu, China’s embassy in Monrovia, 3 December 2010.

Chinese Embassy, Monrovia, http://lr.china-embassy.org/chn/sbgx/jingji/default.html, accessed 28 January 2008; Liberian Embassy, Beijing, ‘Liberia–China Relations’, op. cit., p. 1; Personal interview, Mohammed BOS Kenneth, op. cit.

See C. Alden and D. Large (2013), ‘China’s Evolving Policy Towards Peace and Security in Africa: Constructing a New Paradigm for Peace Building’, in M. G. Berhe and H. Liu, eds., China-Africa Relations: Governance, Peace and Security (Ethiopia: Institute for Peace and Security Studies Addis Ababa University), pp. 16–25.

M. K. Admore, ‘Africa and China’s Non-Interference Policy: Towards Peace Enhancement in Africa’, in M. G. Berhe and H. Liu, eds., ibid . p. 43.

Liberian Embassy, Beijing, ‘Liberia–China Relations’, internal document, January 2008.

‘China-Liberia two way trade increased by 65% in 2009’ (2009 nian zhong li shuang bian mao yi e tong bi shang sheng 65%’), http://lr.mofcom.gov.cn/aarticle/zxhz/tjsj/201003/20100306802801.html, accessed 22 March 2011.

Beijing: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ‘China-Liberia Relations’, http://www.mfa.gov.cn/fzs/sbgxdsj/t6599.html, accessed on 4 January 2014.

Ibid .

See note 28.

The Basement Geographer, ‘Flags of Convenience’, http://basementgeographer.com/flags-of-convenience/, accessed on 19 January 2014.

See ‘Zhong guo tong li bi li ya de guan xi’ (China-Liberia relations), www.chinanews.com/gj/zlk/2014/01-16/25982.shtml, accessed 10 February 2016.

A. M. Johnson (2012), ‘Chinese Business Association of Liberia Launched, As China’s Trade with Liberia Passes US$5 Billion in 2011’, http://www.liberianobserver.com/index.php/business/item/1105-chinese-business-association-of-liberia-launched-as-china%E2%80%99s-trade-with-liberia-passes-us$5-billion-in-2011, accessed 24 April 2012.

Personal interview, Thomas Jaye, Liberia, 22 November 2010.

International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) (2005), Achieving the ITTO Objective 2000 and Sustainable Forest Management in Liberia, ITTC (XXXVIII)/6, p. viii, http://www.itto.int/mission_reports.

UNSC, S/RES/1521 (2003), Liberia, Adopted by the Security Council at 4,890th meeting, 22 December 2003, http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/RES/1521%282003%29.

Global Witness (2006), Cautiously Optimistic: The Case for Maintaining Sanctions in Liberia, Briefing Document, June 2006, p. 7. Van Kouwenhoven was arrested March 2005 and tried the following year at The Hague indicted on violation of UN Resolution (788) on arms embargo on Liberia. See the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, ‘The Trial of Charles Taylor’, http://www.adh-geneva.ch/RULAC/international_judicial_decisions.php?id_state=127.

ITTC, op. cit, p. ix.

See Chinese Business Association of Liberia is born (‘Li bi li ya zhong guo qi ye shang hui cheng li’), http://lr.mofcom.gov.cn/aarticle/jmxw/201103/20110307458315.html (Chinese economic and commercial office’s website).

UN Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) (2007), World Investment Report 2007: Transnational Corporations, Extractive Industries and Development (New York & Geneva: Unctad), p. 36.

AllAfrica (2010), ‘Liberia: China’s Investment Reaches US$9.9 Billion’, 26 April 2010, http://allafrica.com/stories/201004280378.html.

Ibid .

The agreement was signed by the Minister of Land, Mines and Energy, the Minister of Finance and the chairman of the National Investment Commission on the one side; and by China Union (Hong Kong) Mining Company Ltd and China Union Investment (Liberia) Bong Mines Company Ltd on the other.

The Liberian government was advised in part by Joseph Bell and Lorraine Sostowski, partners in Hogan & Hartson LLP. Bell also chairs the Advisory Board of the Revenue Watch Institute.

See document signed 19 January 2009: ‘Mineral Development Agreement Between the Government of the Republic of Liberia, China-Union (Hong Kong) Mining Co., Ltd., and China-Union Investment (Liberia) Bong Mine Co., Ltd.’, p. 1.

Ibid .

Royalties (R) are calculated according to the following formulae: (a) when the index price is $100/m³, R= 3.25%; (b) when the index price is greater than $100/m³ and less than $125, R= 3.5%; (c) when the index price is greater than $125/m³ and less than $150, R= 4.0%; and (d) when the index price is $150/m³ or more, R= 4.5%. The index price should be the Vale spot price FOB Brazil for shipment to China for iron ore of the same grade and quality produced at Bong Mine.

P. Wrokpoh, ‘Liberia’s Mining Sector: Stimulating Post-War Reconstruction?’, Pambazuka News (Nairobi) 481, http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/africa_china/64411.

Personal interview, Matenokary Tingba, Director of Mines at Ministry of Land and Mines, Monrovia, 25 November 2010.

V. Gborglah et al., 4th EITI Report for Liberia, PDF document edited by Ernst & Young, 15 May 2013, pp. 36–51.

‘Draft Analysis of China Union Contract Fiscal Framework’, Revenue Watch Institute and Colombia University, 25 February 2009, p. 2.

Ibid , p. 4.

Bong agreement, Section 14.3.a. See ‘Mineral Development Agreement Between the Government of the Republic of Liberia, China-Union (Hong Kong) Mining Co., Ltd., and China-Union Investment (Liberia) Bong Mine Co., Ltd.’, p. 47.

‘Addendum: Draft Analysis of China Union Contract Fiscal Framework’, Revenue Watch Institute and Colombia University, 13 March 2009, p. 1.

China Union’s expected net income is then: 304,000,000 tonnes × $100 × 25% = $7,600,000,000.

Personal interview, former Chinese Ambassador, Zhou Yuxiao, op.cit.

See Minutes of the Oversight Commission meeting of the Liberia Reconstruction Trust Fund (LRTF), 3 March 2011, p. 1.

Personal interview, Xie Xudong, CICO, Monrovia, 4 December 2010.

Ibid .

Comment by Zambian citizen during public debate on Chinese involvement in Africa. Lusaka, Mulungushi Center, 2 March 2010.

Chinese Embassy Monrovia, ‘Chinese engagement in Liberia’, 16 February 2010, http://www.cablegatesearch.net/cable.php?id=10MONROVIA188, accessed 17 September 2011.

K. Bajzíková (2010), ‘Distribution of Power Within Post-Conflict Reconstruction Concept (Liberian Case)’, paper presented at the seminar ‘AFRICA: 1960–2010–2060 A Century (Re)visited: What Next?’, University of Pécs (Slovakia), 27–29 May 2010.

Adem, S. 2012. “China in Ethiopia: Diplomacy and Economics of Sino-Optimism,” African Studies Review 55, no. 1: 143–160.CrossRef

Titel: China and Liberia: Engagement in a Post-Conflict Country (2003–2013)
verfasst von: Guillaume Moumouni
Verlag: Springer International Publishing
Buch: China and Africa
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-52892-2

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-319-52893-9

Copyright-Jahr: 2018
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52893-9_12

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