Special to WorldTribune.com

By Miles Yu, Geostrategy-Direct.com

Africa has become so important to China that it actually deployed combat troops to a strife-ridden region to safeguard Chinese-owned or operated oil facilities.

South Sudan declared independence in 2010 from Sudan for which China had long been a major protector despite the Khartoum government’s egregious genocidal actions in the Darfour region.

Since independence, South Sudan, with its rich oil reserves, has also been targeted with tens of billions of dollars in Chinese pledges for financial aid and infrastructure projects. In April 2012, China pledged $8 billion for such projects.

But South Sudan and China’s traditional ally Sudan have been ensnarled in bitter disputes over transit fees for South Sudan’s oil through Sudanese pipelines to hook up with Chinese oil tankers.

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