China last week urged Libya to protect its investments and said their oil trade benefited both countries.

The deputy head of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s trade department, Wen Zhongliang, was responding to a question about the official at the Libyan rebel-run oil firm, AGOCO, who said Russian and Chinese firms could lose out on oil contracts for failing to back the rebellion against Gaddafi.

“China’s investment in Libya, especially its oil investment, is one aspect of mutual economic cooperation between China and Libya, and this cooperation is in the mutual interest of both the people of China and Libya.

“We hope that after a return to stability in Libya, Libya will continue to protect the interests and rights of Chinese investors and we hope to continue investment and economic cooperation with Libya,” Zhongliang said.

If acted upon, the warning from Abdeljalil Mayouf, an information manager at AGOCO, would be a headache for China, the world’s second-biggest oil consumer, which last year obtained 3 per cent of its imported crude from Libya.

But his warning may not represent the position of an emerging, post-Gaddafi government in Tripoli.

Beijing has courted Libyan rebels, and there is sure to be a cacophony of voices among opposition groups, said Yin Gang, an expert on the Arab world at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing.

“This was one individual’s opinion. I can say in four words: They would not dare; they would not dare change any contracts,” said Yin.

He said Chinese companies have relatively few investments in Libya, where Western companies were favoured even under Gaddafi in recent years.

“Libya is still in a state of chaos and hasn’t formed a government. There are certainly different views among the rebels,” he added.