How has China built relationships with smaller countries?

As China's economy grows, the need for energy also grows and as fossil fuels are finite China has basically turned to some smaller countries where fuel such as oil is rife and therefore very cheap. By building relationships with these countries China has safeguarded its requirement of energy.

Africa holds a fraction of the world's proven oil reserves—9 percent compared to the Middle East's nearly 62 percent—but industry analysts believe it could hold significant undiscovered reserves. As a result, China is seeking to increase its oil imports from the continent. It now receives about one third of its oil imports from Africa, 9 percent of the continent's total exports in 2006 (by contrast, the United States purchased 33 percent of that year's exports from Africa). China's biggest suppliers in Africa as of 2006 were Angola, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Sudan. It has also sought supplies from Chad, Nigeria, Algeria, and Gabon.

http://www.cfr.org/china/china-africa-oil/p9557