Day: September 8, 2020
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China and the Dirty Secrets of ‘National Development’
The Financial Times today cited new work by scholars at Boston University on the global reduction of Chinese lending. The big story is that while Chinese lending rivaled that of the World Bank by the mid-2010s, it's now plummeting.
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Africa’s Newest Chinese-Financed and Constructed Railway Begins Operating in Nigeria
The newest Chinese-built railway in Africa is now officially in service following a Tweet on Monday from the office of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari that launched the new Lagos to Ibadan line. The $1.59 billion standard gauge railway was
With Chinese Loans Coming Due, Ethio-Djibouti Railway Suffers Heavy Losses Due to Theft, Vandalism
The Chinese-financed and constructed Ethiopia-Djibouti standard gauge railway is bleeding money due to rampant theft and vandalism, according to a report in the Addis Standard newspaper. The situation is now so bad, say company officials, that the trains have been forced to reduce their speed ...
China’s Growing Influence in the Middle East and North Africa
China's presence in the Middle East North Africa region has been steadily rising over the past 25 years and is now entering a new, more complex phase that extends beyond commercial ties to also include potential security implications, writes Afshin Molavi, a senior fellow at ...
Analysts Weigh What Role China Should Play in the Biden Administration’s Africa Policy
With 43 days to go before Joe Biden assumes power in Washington, D.C., analysts in the U.S. are weighing in with suggested foreign policy priorities for the incoming administration. Some are proposing bold moves like the U.S. coordinating with China on ...
A drone view shows a ship and electric and hybrid vehicles manufactured by Chinese automaker BYD at the port of Zarate, Argentina, on January 20, 2026. (Photo by Matias Baglietto/NurPhoto) (Photo by Matías Baglietto / NurPhoto / NurPhoto via AFP)
To international visitors, Bonn—tucked along the Rhine River valley in western Germany—can feel like a time capsule. “Many things never change,” my local hosts told me, gesturing proudly toward the Bonn Minster, the Romanesque church that has anchored the city center since the Middle Ages. After more than two dozen visits ...
Why African Countries in Debt to China Should Pay Close Attention to What’s Happening in Laos
A Chinese state-owned company will take control of the power grid in Laos, one of Asia's poorest countries, in a deal to stave off default of its multi-billion-dollar debts to China. The two sides reached an agreement last week for Electricite du ...
There Are NO Plans for China to Build a New Military Base in Kenya
Seemingly feeding off one another, Kenyan media outlets whipped themselves into a flurry over a rumour that China plans to build a new military base in the country. These stories were predicated on the following statement in the
NGO Takes Zim Government to Court to Stop Chinese Mining Operations in the Hwange National Park
The Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association announced that it will take legal action to stop Chinese mining operations in the Hwange National Park. Last week, the Zhongxin Mining Group Tongmao Coal Company began mining in two coal concessions that were allocated ...
U.S., Europe Becoming Increasingly Worried Over China’s Dominance of the World’s Cobalt Supply Chain
With ties between China and the U.S. and Europe becoming increasingly strained, there's growing concern in Washington, Brussels, and other European capitals about China's dominance over the supply for strategically vital metals and minerals, especially cobalt. Cobalt is widely used in ...
Pandemic? Pfffff! Chinese Phone Giant Transsion Still Generating Huge 2020 Profits
Transsion, the Shenzhen-based African mobile phone giant, posted surging revenue and profits for the first half of 2020. The ongoing pandemic doesn't appear to have dented demand for its phones and services. Profits for the first six months of the year jumped 33.4% compared to the ...
Facing the Prospect of Getting Booted Out of the U.S., TikTok Looks to Expand in Africa
The Chinese-owned short-form video platform TikTok appears to be ramping up its staffing in Africa as it faces an uncertain future in the United States. The company recently posted an ad on LinkedIn to recruit an Influencer Manager ...
China Now the Top Destination for African Students, Says New Report
China is surging ahead of France, the United States and the United Kingdom to become the top destination for African students seeking to study abroad, according to new data from the Beijing-based consultancy Development Reimagined (DR). While Europe as ...
Join a Virtual “Open Day” Tour of Egypt’s New Administrative Capital Hosted by Chinese Construction Company’s Odd Mascot
China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) held a virtual "Open Day" (kind of like an open house) for everyone to see how the construction of the new Egyptian administrative capital is coming along. It's an interesting video just ...
Is Debt-for-Equity Chinese for “Debt Trap?”
Tucked away in a remote corner of Southeast Asia, an important experiment is now underway that could have profound implications for how China manages its vast loan portfolio in Africa and in other developing regions. Last week, Laos's state-owned electric power ...
Chinese Energy Engagement in Africa
China plays an indispensable role in Africa's burgeoning energy market as a financier and contractor for much of the new electrical capacity across the continent. China's building large new coal plants in Zimbabwe, solar power facilities in Kenya and Zambia and ...