Italy has announced its formal withdrawal from the Belt and Road Initiative after joining the China-centered infrastructure and investment project in 2019.
The timing of the announcement that Rome won’t renew its BRI commitment is notable. It came only a day before the EU-China summit, which kicks off on Thursday. The summit will likely be more contentious than usual, with European leaders expected to push China on the treatment of EU firms amid discussions ...
Day: April 21, 2020
Even Though It’s Been Repeatedly Proven False, U.S. Politicians Just Love That Chinese “Debt Trap” Theory
Gyude Moore has clearly had enough of U.S. politicians promoting the debunked Chinese "debt trap" theory in Africa. The former Liberian public works minister and now a senior policy fellow at the Center for Global Development in Washington, ...
Brookings Scholar Yun Sun Provides a Road Map For Chinese Debt Relief in Africa
There's growing anticipation over how China will respond to Africa's calls for debt relief amid the worsening COVID-19 crisis that is ravaging economies across the continent. So far, there have only been a few hints as to how China will proceed, ...
The South African Human Rights Commission Joins Calls for an Independent Investigation Into Allegations of Maltreatment of African Migrants in China
The South African Human Rights Commission is joining the push for an independent investigation of the alleged mistreatment of African migrants in China, including forced testing, quarantining and "other inhuman treatment, due to the COVID-19 outbreak," the independent group said in a statement this week: ...
The Thorny Politics of Gratitude
The COVID-19 crisis is nothing if not instructive. It has functioned like an X-ray, revealing hidden weaknesses in systems across the world. This isn't only true in the narrow sense, relating to health care, insurance, and protective gear manufacturing systems. It's also true in the wider, political ...
The China-Mediterranean Observer: COVID-19 Rattles an Already Volatile Region
As cases of COVID-19 have increased, the pandemic has accordingly become the main topic of discussion in the media of the wider Mediterranean region as many are worried about the health and economic damages that it will cause. Indeed, regardless of the geographical position, there has emerged ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
Awkward Timing as Italy Withdraws from BRI
From Race to Debt to COVID-19: A Conversation with Ambassador Kuang Weilin on Current Issues in China-Africa Relations
For much of the past two decades, China’s engagement in Africa has been steady, rather predictable and largely uneventful. That is, until this year. The China-Africa relationship is facing an unprecedented mix of challenges today ...
Guangdong Province Vice-Governor Meets With African Students at a Local University
The Vice-Governor of Guangdong province, Zhang Xin, visited the campus of Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou this weekend to meet with African students and to discuss a new open letter published by the provincial government, which re-states its policy of treating everyone, foreigners and Chinese, equally.
China’s #2 Diplomat in Zimbabwe Pioneers New Public Diplomacy Tool: An Open Zoom Chat
Zhao Baogang, China's deputy ambassador in Zimbabwe, went on Twitter over the weekend to ask if anyone was interested in joining him for a group chat on Zoom to discuss the recent allegations of mistreatment and discrimination against Africans in Guangzhou. "Many are interested in china-africa relations,we ...
Chinese Officials Respond to Allegations of African Discrimination by Showing Videos of Normal, Daily Life in China
Chinese embassies and diplomats in Africa responded to this weekend's surge of online videos that purportedly show discrimination against Africans in China by posting their own videos depicting African residents in cities like Guangzhou freely going about their daily lives without problems.