CHINA: Chadian President Idriss Deby visits China after the two countries resumed relationships last year

Chadian President Idriss Deby kicked off the first visit to China on Thursday (September 20) after the two countries resumed diplomatic ties last year. Deby held talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao and is expected to also meet Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. China re-established an ambassadorial relationship with the landlocked African country on August 6, 2006, winning a longstanding tug-of-war against Taiwan. Chad's move to drop Taiwan in favour of China was a diplomatic coup for Beijing, which is a major ally of neighbouring Sudan, supplying it with everything from oil industry equipment to arms. In recent years, China's shortage of energy caused by a booming economy has made it turn to oil-enriched African countries for energy cooperation. In July, China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) said it had struck oil of commercial value in Chad, after buying a 50 percent share of an oil exploration partnership in the country. Former Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing visited Chad last January where the two countries signed a series of loan, debt relief and economic cooperation agreements worth $80 million. President Idriss Deby last visited China in 1994.

ITN Source | September 22, 2007

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