Like many other nations, China has been scrambling to put together evacuation plans for its citizens stuck in crisis-torn Libya. The real surprise has been just how many Chinese are living there. The foreign ministry does not know for sure but puts the figure at 30-40,000.
The huge contingent in Libya, who work for at least 27 Chinese companies, has brought to light one of the new dilemmas facing China as its economic interests expand.
For a mixture of reasons that are partly political, partly business, Chinese workers are now present in many of the most volatile and dangerous parts of the world, including places where anti-Chinese sentiment over jobs and working conditions is on the rise.