“The paper first outlines the Chadian context, at national and regional levels, in order to locate China’s engagement appropriately. Because China’s economic engagement in Chad is structured mostly around oil interests, the second section examines the different dimensions of the ‘Rônier’ project, the apparent basis of further Chinese involvement in Chad, and regarded as the enabling foundation for a wider set of economic relations based
upon long-term engagement. Recent developments, however, have revealed the first signs of discord between the Chinese and the Chadian governments. The last section reviews the difficulty of reconciling President Déby’s social ambitions with the CNPC’s economic
constraints, indicating Chinese companies’ increasing concern about the economic
viability of their projects.”
