Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08ABIDJAN133
2008-02-28 16:34:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Abidjan
Cable title:  

CHINESE VIEWS ON COTE D'IVOIRE

Tags:  PREL PGOV IV CH 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO0023
RR RUEHPA
DE RUEHAB #0133/01 0591634
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 281634Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY ABIDJAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4034
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0023
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABIDJAN 000133 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR AF/W, INR/AA, AND EAP/CM

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/26/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV IV CH
SUBJECT: CHINESE VIEWS ON COTE D'IVOIRE


Classified By: POLITICAL/ECONOMIC SECTION CHIEF SILVIA EIRIZ FOR REASON
S 1.4 (B, D)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABIDJAN 000133

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR AF/W, INR/AA, AND EAP/CM

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/26/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV IV CH
SUBJECT: CHINESE VIEWS ON COTE D'IVOIRE


Classified By: POLITICAL/ECONOMIC SECTION CHIEF SILVIA EIRIZ FOR REASON
S 1.4 (B, D)


1. (C) Summary. Chinese Embassy Political Counselor Fulin Ma
told Pol/Econ section chief February 25 that he thinks
elections will take place in 2008, most likely between August
and October. Ma believes there is a real chance for
President Gbagbo to win transparent elections due to the
average citizen's perception that he is one of them, his
access to the government's economic resources, and Ivoirians'
fear that change will bring renewed instability. Regarding
bilateral relations, China is financing lodgings to be used
by members of the legislature in the political capital of
Yamoussoukro. Ma said his government will also build a
hospital in Gagnoa and 2 schools in Abidjan and is in the
process of identifying another major infrastructure project
with the Government of Cote d'Ivoire. End Summary.


2. (C) Pol/Econ Section Chief met with Chinese Embassy
Political Counselor Fulin Ma on February 25 to discuss Cote
d'Ivoire's political situation and the bilateral relationship
between China and Cote d'Ivoire. Ma, who has served in Cote
d'Ivoire for 3 years, will be permanently departing in 2 to 3
months and returning to Beijing. Ma told Poloff that he had
previously served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' (MFA)
Africa Bureau in Beijing.


3. (C) Ma described the situation in Cote d'Ivoire as
"strange" and noted that it is not really a crisis. He
explained that the country's problems were simmering under
the surface during the 33-year tenure of President Felix
Houphouet-Boigny and came to the fore once Cote d'Ivoire no
longer had a strong chief executive. Ma believes that the
Ivoirian crisis is about political power and the access to
economic resources that accompanies it.

Elections Will Take Place
--------------


4. (C) Ma said he believes elections will take place in 2008
and that the August to October timeframe seems most
realistic. Ma believes elections will be held this year due
to pressure from the international community and because it
may benefit Gbagbo to have elections sooner rather than

later. Ma said Gbagbo will put off holding elections if he
is afraid he can't win. He added, however, that the Ivoirian
people want elections quickly so that there can be a return
to normalcy and that Gbagbo will lose popularity and a chance
to be elected if he postpones elections too long.


5. (C) Ma believes there is a real chance Gbagbo could win
fairly transparent elections today. Ma noted that Gbagbo has
the economic resources of the government at his disposal and,
in his travels around the country, has made big promises
about his intent to improve the nation's infrastructure and
local living conditions. He added that Gbagbo can buy people
with influence who can deliver votes and noted that many
ministers in previous governments now serve as Gbagbo
advisors and are given a salary. Ma said that, unlike his
political opponents, Gbagbo knows how to attract people and
average citizens feel that he is close to them. Ma said many
Ivoirians will vote for Gbagbo because they will see it as a
vote for peace. Ma explained that many Ivoirians are afraid
that there will be disorder if another candidate is elected.


6. (C) Ma admitted that that the failure to disarm the Forces
Nouvelles (FN) and the militia before elections could
contribute to a higher likelihood of violence. However, he
noted that the possibility of disorder has been lessened
since the FN have been legitimized by their participation in
the government. Ma said the FN practically administer the
north for the government. Ma stated that disarmament,
demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) is a real point of
contention between the government and the FN and suggested it
is possible that the government will declare that DDR is
finished before the elections even if there is little
tangible progress.

Bilateral Relationship
--------------


7. (C) Ma said China's involvement in Cote d'Ivoire is slight
compared to other countries in Africa because the Ivoirian
crisis began just when China increased its cooperation with
Africa. Ma explained that China's practice in an African
country is to construct a large project and a series of
smaller ones. Ma said the large project in Cote d'Ivoire was
the building that will house members of the legislature in
the political capital of Yamoussoukro. Ma said it was

ABIDJAN 00000133 002 OF 002


finished about 2 years ago and built by Ivoirian workers who
were overseen by Chinese technicians. Once construction was
completed, according to Ma, the Government of Cote d'Ivoire
asked if China could assist with equipment and furnishings
and China agreed. Ma said that process should be completed
in about 1 to 2 months.


8. (C) According to Ma, the Chinese Government will build a
hospital in Gagnoa (Gbagbo's home village) before the end of

2009. Ma said the Government of Cote d'Ivoire had originally
requested an enormously large state of the art hospital in
Yamoussoukro, but the Chinese government refused to agree
because the project has to be finished before 2009. Ma said
the Chinese suggested building a smaller hospital in Abidjan,
but President Gbagbo dismissed this idea on the grounds that
Abidjan already has many services and, thus, attracts more
people. Ma said the Government of Cote d'Ivoire chose Gagnoa
as the location. Ma told Poloff that China will also build 2
schools in the Abidjan area and that he believed work on
these had already begun. In addition, the Chinese Government
is building a conference hall for the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, which should be completed in May or June, and is
located near the MFA building.


9. (C) Ma advised that the Government of China is engaged in
discussions with the Government of Cote d'Ivoire to identify
another large project to be financed by China. Ma explained
that no decision has been made because the Ivoirian
government keeps changing its mind about what it would like.
Ma added that the Ivoirians have suggested an exposition hall
and a stadium and have once again brought up building a
large, modern hospital in Yamoussoukro. According to Ma, it
is likely that the seat of the government will at least
partially be moved to Yamoussoukro because this fits with
Gbagbo's decentralization policy.


10. (C) Ma, who handles the military portfolio at the Embassy
in the absence of a Defense Attache, said the military
bilateral relationship is practically nonexistent given the
UN arms embargo. Ma noted that 2 Ivoirian soldiers had
traveled to China for a week, explaining that it was just a
visit and not training. Ma told Poloff that the Ivoirian
Defense Minister, during his November 2007 visit to China,
had requested Chinese assistance in setting up its DDR civic
service program. Ma said the Chinese government declined
because the Ivoirians seemed unclear about the program's
framework and parameters


11. (SBU) According to Ma, there are 3 Chinese enterprises in
Cote d'Ivoire: 1)a factory producing pharmaceuticals located
in the Youpougon neighborhood of Abidjan, 2) a factory
producing agricultural machinery located on the road to the
airport that has captured 80 percent of the market, and 3) a
factory producing trucks that has received no contracts due
to the arms embargo.


12. (C) Comment: Ma's views track with the prevailing
opinions of most of the diplomatic community. While he says
that the Ivoirian crisis is about political power and access
to economic resources, one could argue that this is what
"identite" is fundamentally about - who is Ivoirian and
therefore who can hold power, own land, and make a legitimate
claim t the country's resources. Although Ma was relatively
frank in his comments about China's role in Africa and Cote
d'Ivoire in particular, he did not discuss China's
exploitation of Africa's natural resources. China would also
benefit from a peaceful Cote d'Ivoire. Highlighting only
China's commercial (and humanitarian) interests, he did not
point out that China is already a major purchaser of Cote
d'Ivoire's timber resources, albeit not through Chinese
firms. End Comment.


NESBITT