[AJA Global Report] Algeria’s relations with China and South Korea

An oil refinery in Algeria. (Photo from arabanoilandgas.com)

Over the past decade Algeria received growing interests by many Asian countries and its relations with China are hot topics of discussion for scholars and journalists. The Algeria-Korea relation will be the topic of this discussion in this article.

This article aims to analyze the growing interest of East Asian countries in Algeria, the focus will be given to China and South Korea not only because they are influential partners with Asia but also because of their progressive roles in Africa overall.

Brief historical review of Asia-Algeria relations:

As the historical context cannot be neglected when analyzing such topic, the evolution of bilateral relations between China and Algeria and Korea and Algeria should be discussed first to better understand the current policies of East Asian countries on Algeria.

The Asia-Algeria relations go back to the Algerian Revolution, when Asia was the second open gate to Algeria after the Arab. In April 1955, the representatives of Algerian “Front of Liberation” have been allowed to participate in the founding congress of Bandung in Indonesia, this act has helped in internationalizing the Algerian issue and recognized the right of Algerian people to have their independence from the French colonial rule.

Asian nations found diplomatic sympathy with Algeria for their shared history under European, American and Japanese colonial rule. Since then anti-colonial liaisons between Asia and Algeria have lived on between the two regions.

After the Cold War was over, many Asian countries achieved high levels of economic development. Recently, many former recipients of international development aid became donor countries, joining the ranks of former donors – the western industrialized countries.

China-Algeria relations:

China was the first non-Arab state to recognize the legitimacy of the state of Algeria after its interim government was established in Sept 1958. On Dec 20 of the same year, diplomatic relations were established. After Algeria’s independence in 1962, bilateral relations strengthened steadily, thanks to Algeria’s contribution in recognizing China’s seat in the United Nations.

After the Cold War, Algeria lent support to China on human rights and Taiwan issues. during its presidency of the African Unity Organization from 1999 to 2000, Algeria has given substantial assistance for “China-Africa Cooperation Forum”, which contributed to the successful establishment of Beijing forum in October 2000.

Korea-Algeria relations:

In the 1960s and 1970s, South Korea’s conflict with North Korea has shaped its foreign policy with the other countries. The Park administration refused the co-existence of two sovereign Koreas in diplomacy until the beginning of the 1970s. Algeria was a socialist country in the 1970s that preferred to strengthen its relations with North Korea. Algeria has initiated its diplomatic relations with North Korea since 1958 following the North Korean recognition of the interim government of Algeria. As a result, the establishment of the relationship between Algeria and South Korea has been delayed until 1990. Since that, the bilateral relations between both countries have matured.

Practical cooperation between the two countries did not start until the first decade of 21st century because of the political instability in Algeria between 1990 and 2000. Korean company Daewoo has done much to bring Algeria and South Korea together by investing businesses in Algeria through a time of violence.

East Asia approaches to Algeria:

Chinese case:

Although the relations between Algeria and China date back to 1962, China is a latecomer to the Algerian market. There are two important points to consider: “comprehensive strategic partnership,” the first in its kind among all the partnerships China has built with Arab countries; and the progressive withdrawal of France in the economic affairs of Algeria.

According to the 2013 UN data, the bilateral economic relations between Algeria and China have doubled almost 15-fold over the past decade, jumping from only $608 million in 2003 to over $9 billion at the end of 2013. Today, Algeria is China’s top trading partner and the largest export market in Maghreb region (Algeria, Morocco, Libya, Tunisia and Mauritania). Beijing’s trade with Algeria represents over 40 percent of China’s total trade with Maghreb (nearly $21 billion) in 2013.

It is obvious that China attaches great importance to developing relations with Algeria, especially after the political and economic instability in many countries in the region — Libya, Egypt and Tunisia – after the “Arab Spring.” From China’s perspective, enhancing relations with Algeria is a strategic issue, as Algeria is the largest country by area in Africa, eighth largest by population (almost 39 million people) and fourth largest in economy. Algeria is also a member of OPEC, the largest natural gas producer and second largest oil producer, after Nigeria, in Africa.

China has a growing interest in the Algerian market, particularly in construction sector, where Chinese companies have won contracts worth billions of dollars, including a $1.5-billion contract for a mosque in Algiers, the third-largest in the world. Nevertheless, China still has a long way to catch-up with the Algeria’s top trade partner which is the European Union.

Korean case:

As an oil producing country, Algeria is more open to businesses than Russia, Central Asian or Arabic countries. Enhancing relations with Algeria could help Korean businesses highly dependent on energy.

2006 was the year of strategic partnership between Algeria and South Korea after South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun opened up diplomatic channels to Algeria on his African tour. Since then many programs were established combining Algerian resources and Korean capital. Currently, Algeria has the largest share of Korean investment in Africa. Korean-made automobiles, home appliances and mobile phones are highly popular in Algerian markets.

Given Algeria’s influence in Africa, and its growing strategic significance, the trajectory of China-Algeria and Korea-Algeria relations are expected to grow farther. Yet China and South Korea are not alone in their efforts to expand ties with Algeria. The U.S., NATO, and Russia are showing growing interests.

By Ouafa Bakhouche, Algeria, AJA Global Reporter