For just a moment, let's try to forget the perceptions we have in our minds of a barren, desolate Africa. Sometimes it is easy for us to forget that there many areas on the African continent that possess great wealth in natural resources, but the Chinese aren't forgetting. China has been making big moves into the continent in pursuit of natural resources, mainly oil, to fuel its growing demand.

I ran across a great article today over on The New York Times online regarding the growing interest China is paying to African countries such as Sudan. Sudan is one of the countries in Africa that has a sizable amount of oil resources, but so far has yet to be fully developed. The question is why? Why is it that in today's world, where oil seems to be the most important resource for developed countries, there are places like Sudan not being developed?

After all, it was only just a little over a week ago when Russia went so far as plant its flag under the North Pole, but has not gone into Sudan. Why? The answer is that countries like Sudan are viewed (and arguably correctly so) as being too volatile for a country to set up shop. Civil wars have gripped the region and corruption is assumed to be fairly widespread.