China's push praised and censured in Mauritius

By Ed Harris

TERRE ROUGE, Mauritius (Reuters) - Sitting under a pair of mango trees and sipping coconut water, Toolsy Poorun, 87, says he thought he would live in Terre Rouge forever. But then Chinese investment came to this part of Mauritius.

Poorun, who lives in the suburbs of the Indian Ocean island's capital Port Louis, now finds himself caught up in China's African push which has seen it pour billions of dollars into the continent, seeking to lock in access to rich resources, including oil and minerals.

The investment rush has sparked tensions with former colonial masters and international donors, Chinese workers have sometimes clashed with locals angered at foreign labour taking jobs, and some Africans have questioned what the flows of money mean for China's role in internal politics.

Some of these tensions are visible in Mauritius, where China plans to open a trade development zone for more than a dozen Chinese firms in Terre Rouge, at a cost of around $730 million (370 million pounds), making it the largest foreign direct investment in the country.

Details of what exactly will be in the Shanxi Tianli Enterprises business park are still sketchy, but Mauritian officials say it will provide a launch pad for Chinese operations in the region.

As a member of trade blocs like the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the South African Development Community (SADC), Mauritius offers a gateway to African markets comprising half a billion people.

But some of the 1.3 million people on the palm-fringed island are wary of what is known as the Tianli project.

Poorun is among them. He settled in Terre Rouge in 1960 and is one of 106 farmers who have been told to leave their farms and homes to make way for the Tianli zone.