China meets French resistance

Their culture is a strength, not a drawback, for Africans: Lecturer

Sydoine Moudouma says it can be difficult for the Chinese as relative outsiders to operate in Gabon when the country retains such close links to the French.

"There is no Gabon without France, as the saying goes, and there is no France without Gabon. I think therefore if France feels its position in Gabon is threatened by China, tensions will occur," he says. The 36-year-old academic and commentator on China-Africa relations believes China may always take an uphill battle.