China's economic engagement with South Sudan, the world's youngest country, is growing rapidly since the latter's independence in 2011. According to the Chinese and South Sudanese official statistics, around 100 to 140 Chinese enterprises currently operate in South Sudan. Since 2008, they have concluded agreements worth about 10 billion USD with the South Sudanese government, and the latter through official channels has expressed willingness to have Beijing's support for projects worth 8 billion USD. The outbreak of violent conflict in December 2013 poses challenges to China's burgeoning economic engagement with South Sudan and the normal operations of Chinese companies there. Prior to the on-going conflict, oil evidently featured as the most significant component of the bilateral economic relations. With China National Petroleum Corporation's (CNPC) large investment stake in the oil industry, South Sudan, at its full capacity, accounts for approximately 5 % of China's imported oil. The traces of Chinese companies' involvement in non-oil sectors are also increasingly visible. They are particularly active in road construction, such as Shandong Hi-speed Group's 1,043 km-long Juba-Rumbek-Bentiu road project and Sinohydro's project of upgrading poor roads in Malakal, to name but a few. Although both sides often identify agriculture as an important area [...]
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