China’s commercial relations with Algeria are among the strongest in the Middle East owing to the size of the construction projects and large number of construction workers. This first article, by Chris Zambelis for the Jamestown Organization, provides a good review. I’m a big fan of analysts getting their hands dirty, and it seems that Zambelis has actually visited Algeria for the research. I would only add that there appear to have since been efforts to tighten restrictions, as I’ve written earlier in this post. This second article by the Associated Press covers similar ground.
Tag Archives: Algeria
Algeria finally cracks down on foreign workers
I see Algeria is finally cracking down on foreign workers, including Chinese workers. This article reports that the government will tighten restrictions on the employment of foreign workers and introduce preferential policies for the employment of local workers. It claims there are 45,000 foreign workers in the country of which around 32,000 are Chinese. Apparently there were rumors that the labor market was going to be flooded by 150,000 foreign employers and locals were rightly worried. The government is responding to these rumors. There is also mention that they are responding to the Chinese companies that “have control” over a large part of the construction market. Interesting that the article makes special mention of both the Chinese and Vietnamese, and I’m left wondering whether Chinese companies have been employing Vietnamese workers.
A Quick Shake of The Bottle
You sometimes have to shake a bottle to see what’s inside. In 2006, Israeli warplanes struck at Lebanese infrastructure. Suddenly there were stories of Chinese construction companies packing up and leaving Lebanon, and it was only then did it become obvious how many were operating in the country.
Much the same is true today. The recent unrest in China’s western provinces has underscored the extent of China’s presence in North Africa.
There are 20,000 Chinese nationals in Algeria alone, not to mention Libya and Morocco. Their numbers hadn’t attracted much attention until last week when local extremists threatened to target them with reprisals. The Chinese Embassy in Algeria went so far as to issue a warning to its nationals.
The events underscore an important point about China’s engagement with the Middle East―you won’t always read about it on the front pages of the Financial Times or New York Times. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. And a quick shake of the bottle can produce often unexpected results.
