VZCZCXRO3795
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMA RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHTRO
DE RUEHNK #0097 0461341
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 151341Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY NOUAKCHOTT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9105
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE
RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUCNMGH/MAGHREB COLLECTIVE
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0183

UNCLAS NOUAKCHOTT 000097 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID PREL MR CN
SUBJECT: CHINESE ENGAGEMENT IN MAURITANIA 
 
REF: STATE 10152 
 
¶1.  (U)  China maintains a prominent and active presence in 
Mauritania.  China is the largest destination for Mauritanian 
exports.  As of 2009, nearly 40% of Mauritanian exports were 
destined for China.  After France, China is the second 
largest importer of products into the Mauritanian market.  In 
addition to Chinese activities in the Mauritanian commercial 
realm, China is actively engaged in a number of 
infrastructure investment projects in Mauritania.  At the 
moment the Chinese are financing a USD 300 million expansion 
of the Autonomous Port of Nouakchott, a railway line linking 
Mauritania's third largest city of Kaedi with Nouakchott, the 
construction of a new Ministry of Foreign Affairs and offices 
for the Prime Minister.  These are large and high profile 
projects in Mauritania.  A majority of the Chinese projects 
are financed through a combination of long-term, low-interest 
loans provided through the Export-Import bank of China, 
grants from the Chinese government and private Chinese 
investment.  Many of the projects, such as the railway line 
and port, will facilitate transportation of Mauritania's 
natural resources, many of which are exported to the Chinese 
market. 
 
¶2.  (U)  The railway link between Kaedi and Mauritania is an 
example of the creative financing of Chinese infrastructure 
investments in Mauritania.  About 70% of the total cost of 
the railway line (USD 970 million) will be financed by 
low-interest loans from the Chinese Export-Import bank, with 
the remainder 30% being financed by a parastatal Mauritanian 
mining partner.  China also has large amounts of private 
investment in Mauritania.  The Mauritanian government 
recently granted a private Chinese company a USD 200 million 
contract to equip a number of Nouakchott's neighborhoods with 
their first sewage systems, while China Minmetals Corporation 
announced that they are in the process of purchasing an iron 
ore mine in Mauritania.  Another private Chinese company is 
working on the construction of a road linking the southern 
city of Selibaby to Kaedi.  There is currently no roadway 
linking these cities, making it a challenge for the 
agricultural products of Selibaby to be transported to 
markets in Nouakchott and abroad. 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  China has become a particularly important trade 
partner for Mauritania. In meetings at the largest 
Mauritanian parastatal company, SNIM, which exports nearly 9 
million metric tonnes of iron ore per year, the director of 
operations noted that because of the financial crisis, all 
orders of iron ore from European trade partners had been 
canceled, but China not only continued their purchases, but 
stepped in to purchase the exports that normally would be 
destined for Europe, making China almost the exclusive buyer 
of Mauritanian iron ore.  Not all Chinese-Mauritanian trade 
endeavors have been successful.  After commencing oil 
exploration in 2006, the China National Petroleum Corporation 
ceased further oil exploration activities in 2009 citing 
rising costs and a lack of substantive reserves. 
 
¶4.  (U)  China conducts most of their assistance programs in 
the form of infrastructure development, but they do have 
small teams of scientific researchers working with the 
Ministry of Fisheries and the Food Security Commission to 
strengthen Mauritania's capacity to produce food.  China also 
has medical teams working throughout Mauritania in a number 
of humanitarian health programs.  Similar to the U.S. African 
Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), since 2004 China has 
maintained an agreement with Mauritania that permits duty and 
customs free entry of certain Mauritanian exports into the 
Chinese market. 
 
¶5.  (U)  The American and Chinese Embassies in Nouakchott 
enjoy good relations, but at the moment there are no joint 
U.S.-Chinese projects.  The Chinese Embassy is open to the 
idea of collaborative U.S.-Chinese projects.  The Chinese are 
mostly active in infrastructure building and have expressed 
interest in learning more about how the USG conducts 
developmental assistance, particularly how we collaborate 
with local NGO partners. 
BOULWARE