CHINA has invited Uganda's energy minister to Beijing to discuss the East African country's $5 billion crude oil pipeline, Uganda's presidency said. The development could signal a possible breakthrough in Uganda's efforts to woo Chinese financiers to fund the pipeline, which the country requires to start crude production from oilfields that were discovered in 2006. Potential Chinese funding is being considered as pivotal after Western banks declined to fund the pipeline after pressure from environmentalists who said the project would add to global carbon emissions. China's special envoy for the Horn of Africa Affairs, Xue Bing, delivered a message to…