Niger’s expulsion of several Chinese oil executives over wage and employment disputes marks a reputational setback for China as it seeks to expand its influence across the African continent.
Niger, a former French colony located in the Sahel region south of the Sahara Desert, remains one of the world’s least-developed nations, despite its significant resource wealth, including uranium.
Once a key U.S. counterterrorism partner, Niger’s ties with the West have eroded in recent years—particularly after a 2023 military coup. The new junta expelled French peacekeepers fighting an Islamist insurgency and ordered the United States to vacate two drone bases, citing Washington’s “condescending attitude.”
Niger has openly embraced stronger security ties with Russia and secured heavy Chinese investment in its energy sector.
Rising Tensions
Earlier this month, Niger’s junta expelled three Chinese oil executives serving as local directors of the West African Oil Pipeline Company, China National Petroleum Corporation, and the joint-venture refinery SORAZ, according to Reuters.
Oil Minister Sahabi Oumarou pointed to stark pay disparities, citing an average monthly salary of $8,678 for Chinese employees versus $1,200 for their Nigerien counterparts. “We are not satisfied with the way in which wealth is distributed between the state of Niger and the partner,” Oumarou told reporters.
Another grievance involved the disproportionately high number of foreign nationals in managerial roles, while Nigeriens were more likely to fill lower-tier labor positions.
These imbalances had persisted, despite multiple attempts to resolve them, Oumarou said, adding that officials were “still always open to discussions.”
Chinese authorities have yet to publicly address the expulsion. Newsweek reached out to Niger’s government via a general email and to China’s Foreign Ministry for comment.
The Alliance of Sahel States—a loose confederation of military-led governments that includes Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso—presents a challenging environment for international investors, said Alex Vines, director of the Africa Program at Chatham House.
“There is pushback from time to time on Chinese investment—it’s not unheard of—but it also happens to Western companies. Canadian and Australian mining firms have faced similar difficulties in Mali and Burkina Faso,” Vines told Newsweek.
While some observers see this as “resource nationalism,” Vines said it also reflects the juntas’ efforts to increase state revenues.
It is not only China encountering friction. Last year, nearly 1,000 U.S. military personnel were ordered out of Niger from facilities that had cost the Pentagon more than $100 million to build.
“More generally, African states have a lot more choice and are embracing multipolarity—which includes both China and the U.S. They do not wish to be pigeonholed,” Vines said.
Strategic Oil and Pipeline Diplomacy
China has played a central role in building Niger’s oil sector, beginning with a 2008 production-sharing agreement between Niamey and the state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation.
That deal led to the construction of a refinery and, later, a pipeline from the Agadem oil field to the coast of Benin. That route is now exporting 90,000 barrels per day—a more-than-fivefold increase over Niger’s previous domestic-focused output—establishing the country as a regional oil player.
“This pipeline underpins the bilateral relationship,” Vines said, noting that Beijing has acted as a mediator between Benin and Niger to keep it running—a role that has generated its own tensions.
In addition to the pipeline, China signed a $5 billion deal to develop oil resources in eastern Niger, expanded last year through a $400 million memorandum of understanding for oil shipments from Agadem.
Soft Power Shift
Some of China’s infrastructure projects in the Global South, including Africa, advanced under President Xi Jinping’s flagship Belt and Road Initiative, have come under fire for alleged “debt trap diplomacy.”
The U.S. and others have accused Beijing of issuing aggressive loans and using repayment struggles to gain control of strategic assets. In Kenya, where China helped fund the Mombasa-Nairobi railway, public debt concerns sparked backlash and prompted negotiations over restructuring.
China has consistently denied these allegations, framing its financial partnerships as tools for mutual development.
Despite controversies, Beijing has been gaining soft power at Washington’s expense. A Gallup poll released last April showed median approval of the U.S. on the continent dropped to 56 percent in 2023 from 59 percent the year before, while China’s rose to 58 percent from 52.
Among the major powers—China, Russia, and Germany—the U.S. was the only one to see its popularity decline.
Opportunities and Risks
“The vacuum offers Beijing the opportunity to strengthen its investment and position as a top beneficiary of critical minerals—such as gold, copper, lithium, and uranium—in the Sahel region,” wrote Abdul-Gafar Tobi Oshodi, a political science lecturer at Lagos State University in Nigeria.
He also argued that China is in a “unique position” to help mend relations between the Sahel Alliance and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which the bloc formally exited this year.
Such a role could further cement China’s image as a peaceful actor. Meanwhile, China—already a growing arms exporter—could see that sector benefit from the retreat of Western influence and sanctions against Russia.
Still, Oshodi warned that China must tread carefully in Niger’s politically complex environment and avoid appearing to play favorites, which could damage its reputation or incite violence.
“It is also unclear if China is capable or willing to fill the vacuum created by the evicted Western powers. But it looks as if China can benefit from the situation in the Sahel in the short term,” Oshodi wrote.
Setbacks Beyond the Sahel
China’s broader engagement in Africa hasn’t been without missteps. Last month, a dam collapse at a Chinese-run copper mine in Zambia released acid runoff into a river basin relied on by 20 million people, killing wildlife and dumping tens of millions of liters of waste.
Zambian authorities ordered the company—Sino-Metals—to halt operations at three dams until repairs are complete and said it would be required to compensate all affected farmers and consumers.
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