A CHINESE BRIDGE OVER THE RIVER NIGER

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAMAKO 000118

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TAGS: PGOV PREL EAID CH ECON EIND ETRD EINT ML
SUBJECT: A CHINESE BRIDGE OVER THE RIVER NIGER

REF: BAMAKO 00104

1.(SBU) Summary: Chinese President Hu Jintao visited Mali
from February 12-13, his second stop on a five nation tour.
Although only in Mali for 24 hours, his visit dominated the
Malian media, which had ample opportunity to recap the long
list of Chinese investments in the country. While in Bamako,
Hu met with Malian President Amadou Toumani Toure, signed
several bilateral agreements, and laid the cornerstone for
Bamako's third bridge, an approximately 70 million dollar
project purported to be China's largest aid development
project in West Africa. Hu finished his trip to Mali by
inaugurating an anti-malaria clinic in the nearby town of
Kati. Mali lacks the natural resources that typically
attract Chinese interest in other parts of Africa, leaving
western diplomats in Bamako left to guess just what China is
getting in return for its investments in Mali. As China
seeks to reshape its image as a responsible global citizen
and conscientious investor in Africa, the answer may be
rather straightforward: good will and a leg up in Mali's
growing manufacturing, construction, and consumer goods
markets. Either way, China's courtship of Mali continues to
expand, and Malian reaction to the Jintao trip made it clear
that Chinese aid is winning China a great deal of gratitude
and influence in Mali. As if to prove the point, on February
25 the Malian government ratified a USD 60 million loan
agreement with the Export-Import Bank of China to finance the
reconstruction of the Chinese-owned SUKALA sugar refinery,
with potentially serious implications for a U.S. and South
African sugar refinery venture that has received nearly USD 2
million from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA)
and USAID. End Summary.

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The Third Bridge Over the River Niger
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2.(SBU) Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived in Bamako on
February 12, his second stop on a five-nation tour. At an
afternoon meeting with Malian President Amadou Toumani Toure,
the Chinese premier stated that China's solidarity with Mali
extended to "good times and bad," and signed a number of
cooperative bilateral agreements in the areas of health,
education, and infrastructure, the details of which have not
yet been published. In addition, Hu announced the creation
of 34 new scholarship opportunities for Malian students to
study in China.

3.(SBU) On February 13, Hu and President Toure laid the
cornerstone for the "Bridge of Chinese-Malian Friendship"
which, once completed, will be Bamako's third and longest
bridge across the Niger River. The estimated price tag of
the 1.7 mile long structure is 34-37 billion FCFA (68-74
million USD) and is billed as the largest Chinese aid
development project in West Africa. Bamako's first bridge is
a two lane structure built during the early 1960s. The
second bridge over the Niger, the four lane King Fahd Bridge,
was built by Saudi Arabia in the 1990s. The Chinese bridge
is intended to alleviate Bamako's significant traffic
congestion and provide heavy trucks with a route into Bamako
that does not direct them through the heart of the city.

4.(SBU) According to the Malian press, the bridge is
scheduled to be completed in September 2010, a date that
coincides with Mali's celebration of fifty years of
independence. However, the Chinese have told the embassy
that the contract under which the bridge is being built is
three years in length, although the Malian government is
pressuring the Chinese to finish in two.

5.(SBU) The bridge project, which was initially proposed at
the China-Africa Summit held in Beijing in November 2006,
will be completed by the Chinese engineering firm, China
Geshouba Group Corporation (CGGC). It is the largest of a
long list of Chinese infrastructure projects in Mali. A
sample of some of the structures the Chinese have built or
are building includes: 4 stadiums (in Bamako, San, Koutiala,
and Bougouni),10 women's and children's shelters (in Bamako
and regional capitals),2 rural schools (in Mopti and
Sikasso),a sugar refinery, the International Conference
Center in Bamako, the Secretariat General of the Presidency,
a new hospital, a textile mill, and the memorial to Mali's
first president, Modibo Keita.

6.(SBU) The Chinese infrastructure investments come during a
time when bilateral trade between China and Mali is expanding
significantly. According to Malian government publications,

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bilateral trade between Mali and China grew from 83 billion
FCFA (166 million USD) in 2004 to 101 billion FCFA (212
million USD) in 2008. By comparison, Mali's bilateral trade
with the U.S. totaled USD 42 million in 2007, according to
AGOA figures. Mali primarily imports electronics, green tea,
and light industrial products from China, while its primary
export to China is cotton. Hu finished his trip to Mali by
participating in the inauguration of a new anti-malarial
clinic at the hospital in Kati, near Bamako. The clinic was
also the product of Chinese funding, and will regularly
receive free anti-malarial medicines from China.

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Mali Returns the Favor
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7.(SBU) On February 25, the Malian Council of Ministers
ratified an agreement with the Export-Import Bank of China
originally negotiated and signed in Bamako on November 26,

2008. Under the agreement, the Export-Import Bank of China
will provide a 500 million yuan (roughly USD 60 million) loan
to finance the expansion of the SUKALA sugar refinery, which
is 60 percent owned by the Chinese government and 40 percent
owned by Mali. SUKALA has been pressuring the Malian
government to reallocate to SUKALA land that the Malian
government has already ceded to the Louisiana based Schaffer
Global Group and its South African partner, Ilovo, to
construct a modern sugar refinery next door to SUKALA's sugar
cane operations. Since the Schaffer project was initiated in
1999, USTDA and USAID have provided nearly USD 2 million to
support feasibility studies and sugar cane testing. Plans to
expand SUKALA have been around for years, but it was never
clear whether SUKALA really intended to increase its
operations or was simply trying to counter Schaffer's much
more viable and competitive business model (reftel). The
February 25 announcement by the Malian government seemingly
indicates that China and Mali are serious about expanding the
SUKALA refinery, with potentially serious ramifications for
Schaffer and Ilovo.

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Comment: A Bridge, But to What End?
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8.(SBU) Hu's trip provided an occasion for much celebration
in the Malian press over Malian-Chinese friendship. China
was the fourth country to recognize Malian independence in
1960 (the U.S. was the second) and every Malian President has
made a pilgrimage to Beijing. President Toure has made the
trip three times, most recently for the Olympics. The
official program for Hu's visit published by the Office of
the Presidency attributes good Chinese-Malian relations to
sustained high level contacts and exchanges, as well as
Mali's unwavering support for China on the question of
Taiwan. The document specifies, "Mali remains completely
dedicated to a united and indivisible People's Republic of
China," a sentiment echoed by ATT's address at the bridge
project opening ceremony.

9.(SBU) China's infrastructure investments in Mali are
significant. Given the small size of Mali's economy, these
investments go a long way. During Hu's visit, President
Toure remarked that, "all the great accomplishments in Mali
bear the mark of China." Since Mali has no significant
natural resources to offer - Mali's gold is already spoken
for by other investors and there are no known Chinese firms
among those scouring northern Mali for possible oil or
uranium reserves - the inclusion of Mali in President Hu's
itinerary seemed calibrated to counter the prevailing image
of a China guilty of elevating its drive for African natural
resources over concerns for human rights and good governance.
By highlighting its support for one of Africa's leading
democratic performers, China not only further endeared itself
to Mali but signaled that its African diplomacy is more
complex than a simple cost-benefit calculation.
MILOVANOVIC