BEIJING: Abductions in Sudan and Egypt highlight the dangers facing China's workers abroad and led Beijing to reassess a long-stated policy of non-interference as its foreign interests grow, analysts say.
China has been sending workers to Africa since the 1950s to build roads and railways, but investment has surged in the past 15 years as the Asian powerhouse sought to secure the resources it needs to fuel its booming economy.
Trade between Africa and China topped $120 billion last year, a jump from less than $20 billion a decade earlier, and experts say China's interests on the continent are shifting to investing in institutions and governments.
Jonathan Holslag, a researcher at the Brussels Institute of Contemporary Chinese Studies, said the presence of Chinese workers in some of the world's most unstable areas was making them a target for criminals.
"Armed gangs increasingly consider Chinese labourers an easy target for ransom," said Holslag. "Especially in Africa, China's growing economic presence has stumbled into growing insecurity."
He made the comments after the abduction late last month of 29 Chinese workers by rebels in Sudan's South Kordofan state.
That was followed on Tuesday by the capture of 25 Chinese workers in Egypt by Bedouins demanding the release of relatives imprisoned by the fallen regime of Hosni Mubarak. The Chinese were soon freed.
Chinese workers have been killed in Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya and Nigeria, while others have had to be evacuated when violence has broken out.
Last year, China conducted its biggest and most expensive rescue mission when it evacuated 36,000 of its nationals from Libya, where it has substantial oil interests, as the country descended into civil war.
The violence led to heavy losses for Chinese businesses, which had around $18.8 billion worth of contracts in Libya.
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