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RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0086
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 0001
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 WINDHOEK 000118 
 
C O R R E C T E D  C O P Y (Classification Markings 1st Par) 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF, EAP/C, INR 
DOD FOR OSD/AF 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/16/2019 
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR WA CH
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON CHINESE ACTIVITIES IN NAMIBIA 
 
WINDHOEK 00000118  001.4 OF 003 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Dennise Mathieu for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d) 
 
Summary 
-------- 
 
¶1. (C) China provided significant financial support to the 
ruling SWAPO party during the liberation struggle, and today 
it continues to maintain close political, financial, and 
commercial ties to SWAPO.  The Chinese government has given 
the GRN over 1 billion Namibian dollars since independence 
(USD 100 million), and Beijing has funded a number of large 
construction projects involving government buildings, 
including a new official residence for the President and a 
promised military academy.  Bilateral trade soared from USD 
74 million in 2003 to nearly USD 400 million four years 
later.  Resentment against Chinese companies, which maintain 
a heavy presence in Namibia's construction sector, is 
growing, as the general public believes they receive 
preferential treatment in awarding of government tenders and 
fail to comply with Namibia's labor laws.  The size of the 
Chinese community in Namibia is estimated at between 3,000 
and 4,000.  End Summary. 
 
 
Chinese Relations with Namibia 
------------------------------ 
 
¶2. (C) China enjoys excellent relations with Namibia based on 
historical ties and current bilateral trade and development 
assistance. The embassy, established since independence, has 
23 officers according to the Diplomatic List. Ambassador Ren 
Xiaoping, who presented her credentials in November 2007, 
speaks English fluently and actively engages with GRN 
officials. The Chinese are here to stay, as evidenced by the 
new Chinese embassy compound being built in Windhoek. The 
structure, which dwarfs those of its diplomatic counterparts, 
is slated to be completed next year. All Chinese diplomats 
will live on the compound, reportedly for protection from 
Windhoek's crime threat. The number of Chinese citizens 
living in Namibia is somewhere between 3,000 and 4,000, 
according to Xiaoping, and they are mainly involved in the 
construction and retail sales businesses. 
 
Trade 
----- 
 
¶3. (SBU) China's trade with Namibia is steadily increasing. 
According to open sources, in 2003, bilateral trade between 
China and Namibia totaled USD 74 million, and in 2007, that 
figure had risen to almost USD 400 million. China is 
importing minerals, such as copper and manganese, marble, 
uranium, and some fish and fur products. The Chinese 
purchased USD 554,414 worth of fish in 2004, with that figure 
rising to USD 943,383 in 2007 and USD 893,683 in just the 
first half of 2008. In 2004, the Rossing uranium mine sold 
uranium to the Chinese national nuclear industry for the 
first time-- 106 tons in 2004 and 109 tons in 2005. Figures 
for subsequent year are unavailable, but Rossing expects the 
highest industry growth over the next few years to come from 
China and Russia. Indeed, in 2008, China acquired a 12 
percent stake in the Rio Tinto Group, which owns a 69 percent 
interest in Rossing.  Chinese exports to Namibia include 
clothing, appliances, and low-priced, light manufactured 
goods sold in thousands of retail shops across the country. 
 
Construction:  Ever Present but Engendering Resentment 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶4. (C) Chinese involvement in the construction sector garners 
considerable attention in the Namibian press. It is estimated 
that China now controls as much as 70% of the market share, 
and complaints that Chinese construction firms skirt labor 
regulations are often heard. For instance, Chinese plans to 
build a military academy for Namibian officers in the town of 
Okahandja have been marred by accusations in the press of 
unfair competition and non-compliance with Namibia's labor 
laws. According to Namibia's major English language daily, 
the Chinese construction companies involved in the project 
allegedly have failed to pay minimum wage and make social 
security and pension contributions to Namibian workers. Other 
Chinese construction firms supposedly hire fewer than 50 
permanent workers to avoid inspections by the Ministry of 
Labour and Social Welfare.  These same firms then employ 
 
WINDHOEK 00000118  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
several hundred temporary workers, however, to complete 
construction projects. 
 
¶5. (SBU) In Namibia's High Court two local construction firms 
are challenging a decision by the government's Tender Board 
and the Ministry of Works and Transport to award to China 
Nanjing International a 74 million (Namibian dollars) 
contract to build a head office for the Ministry of Lands and 
Resettlement. The companies claim that the Government of 
Namibia (GRN) gives preferences to Chinese construction firms 
by overlooking certain requirements, such as adherence to the 
Affirmative Action and Labour acts. 
 
¶6. (C) The Chinese Embassy has been quietly critical of some 
Chinese companies operating in Namibia, admitting some were 
"irresponsible employers" who sometimes forget or ignore the 
fact that they are subject to Namibian law. According to Lin 
Jing, outgoing DCM, the Chinese Embassy regularly tries to 
educate Chinese employers about Namibian laws to which they 
are subject by placing information in a local Chinese 
language newspaper.  Moreover, Lin stated that the embassy 
maintains an ongoing dialogue with the GRN about these firms 
and the challenges they face working in a foreign 
environment.  Lin expressed sympathy with the desire of 
Chinese firms to hire Chinese workers, who, he said, have a 
stronger work ethic than their Namibian counterparts. 
 
Aid from Beijing 
---------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Since independence, China has given Namibia two 
grants of 30 and 50 million yuan, an interest-free load of 30 
million yuan, and one billion yuan as a concessional loan. 
This is in addition to a one billion yuan credit line offered 
by President Hu Jintao during his state visit to Namibia in 
February 2007, which Director of the National Planning 
Commission Peter Katjavivi told us has not been used yet. 
Xioaping told journalists recently that perhaps the credit 
line could be used to upgrade and expand the port in Walvis 
Bay. The grant for the 50 million yuan was signed in February 
2009, and Xioaping said the two governments have not decided 
how the funds will be spent. Part of the 30 million yuan 
grant has gone towards the construction of the President's 
residence, which will be part of the North Korean-built State 
House complex. 
 
¶8. (SBU) In July 2001, construction was completed on a 
satellite tracking and command station in Swakopmund. The 
station cost USD 1.2 million and covers an area of 150 meters 
by 85 meters. (Note: The site was chosen as it was on the 
orbital track of a manned spacecraft during its reentry 
phase. End note) 
 
¶9. (SBU) On a stretch of communal land between Windhoek and 
Rehoboth, the Chinese have been constructing a storage 
facility for a nearby military base since 2006. The GRN has 
promised to acquire additional land to give to nearby 
residents upon whose properties the building is encroaching. 
 
¶10. (SBU) In December 2008, the China Friendship Development 
International Engineering Design Consultation Corporation 
donated USD 50,000 worth of computer equipment to the 
Ministry of Justice. At the handover ceremony, Xioaping noted 
that China also planned to give 200 Namibians the opportunity 
to study in China. 
 
¶11. (C) The governor of the Kavango region told us that China 
provided a USD 5 million grant last year for the construction 
of regional council offices in Namibia. The GRN considered 
Kavango and the Omusati region to be priorities, and thus the 
funds were divided between them. 
 
¶12. (C) China has committed to upgrading and expanding the 
aforementioned USD 650,000 Namibian Defense Force military 
school into a more prestigious defense academy. Lin explained 
that after years of discussion and planning, construction on 
the academy was stalled. "They change plans every time we 
meet," he said. However, a Chinese-built air base in the town 
of Karibib, northwest of Windhoek, is nearly finished. 
Beijing also provides Namibia a substantial number of 
training slots in its military courses in China -- 68 in 
¶2007. In addition, there are regular exchanges of visits by 
senior Chinese and Namibian military officers. China also is 
 
WINDHOEK 00000118  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
assisting Namibia in building an Air Force fighter fleet, and 
it provided 100 trucks to the Namibian Defense Forces 
recently. 
 
¶13. (SBU) China is about to begin construction on a school 
and a 70-bed hospital in Omuthiya in the Oshikoto region with 
a grant of USD 7 million. Two more schools will be built in 
Tsumkwe, while the Kamutjonga Inland Fisheries Institution, 
an aquaculture research center in the Kavango region, was 
recently equipped by China. More aid is in the pipeline for 
the construction of a USD 13 million youth training center. 
 
¶14. (C) Asked how the Chinese determine the focus of their 
assistance to Namibia, Lin told us that the embassy and the 
GRN agree to a list of projects, and the GRN is then given 
funds directly to implement the projects. Lin described the 
process as requiring little oversight or accountability. 
 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶15. (C) While the Government of Namibia supports China as a 
friend and ally, it is clear that many Namibians resent the 
growing Chinese presence in their country. In addition to 
complaints that the Chinese unfairly win tenders, ignore 
labor regulations, and "steal Namibian jobs," there is also a 
perception that the Chinese, many of whom own shops in the 
northern part of the country, near the Angolan border (over 
500 retail stores in the small town of Oshikongo), do not 
make an effort to assimilate or learn local languages. It is 
also commonly believed that immigration authorities overlook 
visa fraud and grant entry permits to Chinese who claim to be 
investors when in reality they intend to open retail shops. A 
recent study by the Labour Resources and Research Institute 
(LaRRI) argued the retail outlets bring few individual 
benefits, such as skill and technology transfers, and do not 
contribute to the country's overall development. 
 
16 (C) In a country in which anti-colonial rhetoric still 
resonates, the refrain that the Chinese presence in Namibia 
is growing too large and influential and that the country has 
been sold to its Asian friends, is becoming increasingly 
common. An April Fools Day joke in a local German-language 
newspaper, which featured an article stating that Windhoek 
street signs would soon be posted in Chinese, resulted in 
numerous angry calls and letters to the editor. Business 
owners, particularly those in the northern regions near the 
Angolan border, and labor unions are becoming increasingly 
outspoken on the issue and have begun asking the government 
to intervene. 
 
¶17. (C) Nevertheless, given the close historical ties between 
SWAPO and Beijing, and the significant concrete benefits they 
continue to produce for the Government of Namibia, the 
growing public resentment is unlikely to translate into 
policy changes in the near term.  At the invitation of SWAPO, 
a ministerial-level delegation from the Communist Party 
attended the fourth SWAPO national congress in 2007.  It is 
unclear whether the Chinese government has made or will make 
any contributions directly to SWAPO in the lead-up to the 
presidential and parliamentary elections this November, as 
they reportedly did in 2004 with a USD 30,000 contribution. 
In March, Xioaping used the occasion of Namibia's 
independence day to write an opinion piece in the New Era 
newspaper in which she extolled SWAPO's accomplishments, 
thanked Namibia for its sympathy during the 2008 Sichuan 
earthquake and for its support on Tibet- and Taiwan-related 
issues, and promised unwavering assistance despite tough 
economic times. 
 
MATHIEU