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The Chinese Embassy in the Central African Republic has a clear warning to its compatriots in the landlocked country: Do not leave the capital Bangui. Abductions of foreigners are on the rise, and Chinese people outside Bangui are forced to leave the area immediately.
Less than a week later, on March 19, a group of armed men attacked a gold mine far from Bangui and killed nine Chinese workers.
The Central African government said it was investigating the massacre and concluded that a rebel group had orchestrated it. The rebels have denied the allegations and blamed a third party operating in the country – the Russian Wagner mercenary group, which later accused the rebels. Neither party has provided evidence for these claims.
The investigation has left unanswered questions about the attackers’ motives and methods. More than a dozen Central African soldiers were supposed to protect the site, according to diplomats briefed on the investigation, but on the day of the attack, only four were present and all survived.
The victim has not been identified, and the body was cremated shortly after the attack. One local mayor said the workers were shot at close range. Photos shared by local and Western officials based in the country show how the attackers left their bodies in a row in the rust-colored mud, as if to send a message.
The turmoil surrounding the assassination underscores the growing security challenges facing the Chinese government as Chinese companies rapidly expand their activities around the world, often entering the middle of conflict zones with unstable governments and armed groups vying for territory.
Chinese workers face increasing threats in countries like Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Pakistan, including last year’s suicide bombing that targeted a Chinese cultural center in Karachi and killed three Chinese teachers. In 2020, three Chinese nationals were killed after a Chinese-owned warehouse in Zambia was set on fire.
The attacks have exposed a wide disconnect between China’s economic ambitions and its security apparatus abroad, which relies on a patchwork of local militaries, mercenaries and private companies to keep Chinese workers safe, analysts said. China’s military has a minimal presence overseas and limited ability to deploy forces beyond its borders, according to John Van Oudenaren, an analyst who focuses on China’s foreign policy at the Jamestown Foundation, a think tank.
But China’s leader, Xi Jinping, has aggressively carved out a more nationalistic image of China, increasing pressure at home for his government to show that China is proactively protecting its citizens abroad. At the end of April, as part of the evacuation of Chinese nationals from Sudan, which has been rocked by war between two rival generals, the Chinese government sent a military vessel displaying a sign: “President Xi has sent this navy ship to bring everyone home.”
“China is on thin ice because it’s entering some of the most unregulated places in the world and supercharging conflicts,” said Ammar Malik, a senior research scientist at William & Mary who tracks China’s development finance. “And every time there is an attack, it angers the Chinese and forces China to reconsider this light-touch approach.”
After the killings in the Central African Republic, people on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, commented sarcastically that the attack did not match the portrayal of China in the movie “Wolf Warrior”, a pair of Chinese nationalist action films that promote the idea. that China always protects its citizens from danger in foreign countries.
But most online comments about the attack were heavily censored, with Weibo suppressing hashtags about the deaths. However, the site highlighted a sharp public rebuke by Mr Xi, who called for the attackers to be severely punished.
Allegations of Wagner’s possible involvement are particularly sensitive for China, pointing to the complications Mr Xi faces as he strengthens ties with Russia, even amid the war in Ukraine, in an effort to balance the United States and its Western allies. The killing came a day before Mr. Xi landed in Moscow to meet his Russian counterpart, Vladimir V. Putin.
Some influential Chinese, like Hu Xijin, former editor of the Global Times, a Communist Party newspaper, said those who blamed Wagner for the attack were trying to damage relations between China and Russia.
Wagner, a private network of Kremlin-backed companies involved in security, political influence and exploitation of natural resources, has been dominant in the Central African Republic since 2018. It provides personal protection and political support to President Faustin-Archange Touadéra, in exchange for access to diamonds, gold and wood.
In many parts of the country, Wagner has driven rebel groups from resource-rich areas, prompting them to carry out more kidnappings for ransom.
In early March, miners began work near the village of Chimbolo, a few hours northeast of the capital. Gold Coast Group, a Chinese company, opened a new gold mine there. The attack came soon after.
Researchers and local officials say the area is controlled by Wagner and the Central African army. But the government blamed the Coalition of Patriots for Change, an alliance of rebel groups. In response, Aboubakar Siddick Ali, the group’s spokesman, said in an interview that the rebels were not working in the area to avoid being “cornered by Wagner.”
Wagner has become more dependent on mining operations in Africa, a source of hard cash that helps businessmen close to the Kremlin circumvent Western sanctions imposed after the full invasion of Ukraine, said Alessandro Arduino, a Chinese security expert at King’s College. London.
“Wagner and China have the same exploitative interests in Africa, but Wagner thrives in chaos, while China needs stability,” said Mr. Arduino.
Gold Coast, which could not be reached for comment, is one of several small Chinese mining companies that have been pursuing gold mines in the Central African Republic in recent years. The companies have diverted waterways to mine the river, researchers say, damaging the environment and angering the public. Some of them are also accused of human rights violations.
“The presence of foreign companies creates tension with local residents, as can be expected,” said Olivier Mbombo Mossito, who previously worked as a public prosecutor in Bambari, the town closest to the scene of the murder. “The acquisition of this mining site by a Chinese company may have sparked outrage, but from whom?”
Arnaud Djoubaye Abazène, the Central African Republic’s justice minister, told reporters last month that rebels were “without a doubt” behind the killings. But he did not release evidence or take questions from reporters. He thanked “our Russian allies” for capturing and killing several of the suspected attackers, who have not been named.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Wagner, said in a written answer to the question that “the bandits killed the Chinese.”
“The bandits were found,” Mr. Prigozhin wrote. “Nothing to discuss here.”
But Western researchers and diplomats say the killings of the miners do not fit the profile of how insurgent groups have targeted Chinese citizens in the past. The group usually kidnaps Chinese workers to extract ransom from their employers, with unusual execution-style murders.
Two Chinese officials sent from Beijing attended the justice minister’s press conference. He said he has not been able to access the crime scene.
The mine has been closed since March 19. China returned about 80 citizens shortly after the killing.
Nicole Hong reported from Seoul and Elian Peltier from Dakar, Senegal. Abdi Latif Dahir contributed reporting from Nairobi, Kenya.
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