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Bloomberg: “Wave of Looming Defaults Poses the Biggest Test Ever for China’s Influence in [Africa]”

A new Bloomberg report projects a grim future for Africa's economic stability as it becomes increasingly apparent that countries who borrowed heavily from China over the past decade are unlikely to be able to repay those loans. The article by two ...

Bloomberg’s Got It Wrong, Say China’s Supporters in Africa: Without Chinese Loans, the Situation Would Be Even Worse

University of Cape Town professor, Carlos Lopes, was among the first today to post a rebuttal to the Bloomberg China-Africa debt article. Professor Lopes expressed frustration that the article only focused on the negative aspects of China's lending practices on the continent and ...

Was China’s Ambassador to Somalia Correct When He Claimed That China Accounts For Just 14% of Africa’s Debt?

Yesterday, China's ambassador to Somalia, Qin Jian, posted a Tweet where he stated that "China accounts for about 14% of all foreign debts in Africa," which was a figure that we hadn't previously seen. Since the Chinese government does not provide an easily accessible resource ...

China’s Embassy in Zimbabwe Swats Away Social Media Rumor that a Chinese Evacuation is Underway

Zhao Baogang, China's deputy ambassador at the embassy in Harare, called online reports that Chinese nationals were being evacuated from Zimbabwe "fake news." The rumor ...

The Power of Good Journalism: Nigeria Takes Action Against Chinese Mining Company in Response to Investigative Report

It's not often that an African government takes decisive action against a Chinese extractive resource company. In fact, it's quite rare. So, it's notable when investigators from Nigeria's Federal Government descended on the Chinese-owned Hongao Mining Company's site near Abuja to ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

The G20 Summit and the Half-Life of a Joke

When it was announced in 2023 that the African Union would become a full member of the G20, I darkly joked on a podcast that the AU’s entry into the body could very well mark the moment the G20 lost its status as one of the most important global coordination forums. Mark my words, I said, soon The Economist will be like “Uhhh, the G20 is OVER – it’s the ...

U.S.-China Rivalry in the Red Sea

The Red Sea is emerging as a key theater of contention in the emerging duel between the United States and China. Both countries have military outposts in the tiny country of Djibouti and expanding geopolitical interests in one of the world's ...

Why China-Africa Relations is Like a Geopolitical Rorschach Test

It's often said that analyzing China-Africa ties is a lot like looking at one of those inky splotches you see on a Rorschach test. If you think China's engagement in Africa is the worst thing that's happened to the continent in ...