Day: November 24, 2020
Related Posts
The Challenge of Responding to the Zambian Crisis
Zambia’s slow creep towards an official default is raising a lot of discussion about how to avoid this kind of crisis from spreading. Not surprisingly, much of this focus is falling on China, and rightly so. China’s insistence on handling successive troubled loans on an opaque case-by-case ...
Related Posts
Russian and Chinese Propaganda Efforts in Africa
Combatting fake news, misinformation and outright propaganda is one of the foremost challenges confronting policymakers in Africa and elsewhere around the world. Some of that misleading information is distributed organically while other memes are intentionally deployed by governments to influence local ...
As Zambia Nears Default, Analysts Examine What Went Wrong
Although Zambia missed a $42.5 million bond payment on November 14th, and effectively defaulted on that portion of its debt, it's still technically not in default yet. It will probably officially cross that line within the next few days, making it the first African country this year ...
Many Kenyans Surprised and Somewhat Perturbed That the Chinese Contractor Building the Nairobi Expressway is Going to Make a LOT of Money
The China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), a Chinese state-owned construction company, is forecast to earn almost a billion dollars in profits over the 27 years that it will operate the new Nairobi Expressway that's now under construction. Details of the ...
With Chinese Loans Coming Due, Ethiopia Moves Forward With Ethio Telecom Privatization Plan
The Ethiopian government is moving forward with plans to sell off a 45% stake of the state-owned Ethio Telecom along with two more telecom licenses even though this may not be the best time to do that given the weak economy and the escalating conflict in the ...
Chinese Oil Buying From Saudi Arabia Surges, Likely at Africa’s Expense
Saudi Arabia is emerging as an increasingly important hub on China's Belt and Road Initiative as Beijing turns to the Kingdom for an increasingly large share of its oil procurement. Last year, two-way trade surged 23% year-on-year to $78 billion, and even amid the ...
China Combines Military Outreach with PPE Diplomacy in the DRC
China's ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo handed over a donation on behalf of the People's Liberation Army to an officer from the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC). The donation of health supplies is part of a larger PLA engagement strategy to foster ...
China Sends a Heavy Hitter To Be Its New Ambassador To South Africa
China's ambassador-designate to South Africa, Chen Xiaodong, arrived at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg yesterday to start his tour as Beijing's sixth envoy to Pretoria. Chen's appointment to the post reaffirms Beijing's view that South Africa remains its most important ...
Following President Xi’s UNGA Speech, Chinese Diplomats in Africa Double-down on Vaccine Accessibility Pledge
Chinese diplomats in Africa are reaffirming President Xi Jinping's pledge to make a COVID-19 vaccine available to people across the continent once it's tested and ready for distribution. Fang Yi, the political attaché at the Chinese embassy in Uganda,
Martyn Davies: “African Economies Have Pivoted Towards a China-Centric Asia”
Long-time China-Africa market analyst Martyn Davies, the managing director for emerging markets at Deloitte, explains why the once dominant "Chimerica" (China-America) is now giving way to a new era of "ChiAfrica" (China-Africa) trade. Watch the full ...
Chinese Propaganda Floats the Idea of Integrating the Belt & Road Initiative With the AfCFTA
The Communist Party-controlled China Daily newspaper published an interesting article today written by Lewis Ndichu, a research and policy analyst at the Kenya-based think tank Africa Policy Institute, that proposes how China's Belt and Road Initiative can be integrated into the new African Continental Free ...
One of Nigeria’s Elder Statesmen Reflects on Ties With China
Aminu Wali, 79, is long retired from a distinguished diplomatic career as Nigeria's envoy to China, the United Nations and a stint as the country's foreign minister. In a wide-ranging interview with the Premium Times newspaper, Wali reflected on the current state of ties with China and ...
Popular Ghanaian YouTuber Goes to Village Where Chinese Man Was Named a Development Chief to Find Out What Happened
Ever since the Chinese businessman, Sun Qiang, was named development chief (Nkosuohene) of the small Ghanaian town of Kwahu-Abetifi two weeks ago, social media has been in an uproar. According to reports, Sun was awarded the title for giving $5,000 to the community. ...
What It Takes To Compete Against the Chinese in Africa
Remember all those exciting Africa summits that took place last year? The Russians and Turks each had one, as did the Europeans, and the Japanese. At one point it seemed kind ...
It’s Been Nearly 6 Months Since Guangzhou, What Have We Learned?
It's been six months since Guangzhou became synonymous with anti-black and anti-African discrimination. In the wake of numerous videos, photos, and accounts of the maltreatment of African residents in the southern Chinese megacity, feelings on all sides have hardened. It's true ...
Gyude Moore on Why Africa Must Steer Clear of Any U.S.-China Conflict
W. Gyude Moore, a senior policy fellow at the Center for Global Development in Washington, D.C. and the former minister of public works in Liberia, wrote another provocative article on U.S.-China-Africa relations that ricocheted across the internet over the weekend.
Namibian Beef Exports to China Continue While Dozens of Other Countries Halt Meat Trade Due to COVID-19
China's General Administration of Customs published a list of 46 meat processing plants around the world that have halted exports to China due to COVID-19 outbreaks among their workers. But Namibia, so far, is not on the list. ...
Africa’s Richest Man, Alika Dangote, Shares His Perspective on the Impact of China’s Presence in Africa
Chinese businesses are coming to Africa for "what they need" and are not challenging local enterprises in Nigeria and Africa more broadly, according to the founder and president of the Dangote Group, Alika Dangote, in an interview with the Nigerian business TV program "Moneyline ...
China to Stockpile Massive Amounts of Cobalt, Further Boosting the Price of this DRC, SA-sourced Strategic Mineral
The Chinese government will add 2,000 tons of cobalt to its strategic commodity reserve in a move that is expected to further bolster prices of this vitally important mineral that largely comes from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Africa, according to ...
Traditional Chinese Medicine is Gaining Traction in Africa. Can it Also Help in the Fight Against COVID-19?
By Chazha Ludo Macheng and Atharv Gupta As COVID-19 has ravaged the globe, governments have had to face the grim reality of overwhelmed medical systems. The impact has been morbid, with over 7 million confirmed cases and over 400,000 deaths
What Does China Need to Do to Improve its Agriculture Assistance Programs in Africa?
China has provided agricultural assistance to Africa for decades. Yet questions are frequently raised as to how its aid in Africa resembles those run by other development actors in terms of project assessment, management, monitoring, and evaluation. Recent developments, such as the establishment of the China International ...
This Is What Twitter Data Tells Us About the Worst Week in China-Africa Relations
Last week, the world witnessed a defining moment in China-Africa relations. Amidst fears of healthcare and economic collapse in Africa, the unified voice of Africans against the reported maltreatment of Africans in China on social media became a forceful agent in diplomatic affairs between the two parties. ...
China’s Former Ambassador to South Africa, Lin Songtian, is Officially Gone
Despite his reputation as brash, outspoken and confrontational, Lin Songtian, the former Chinese ambassador to South Africa, quietly left the country on Monday. His sudden departure is a bit surprising given the enormous role he played in shaping ...
Lin Songtian, China’s Brash Former Ambassador to South Africa Suddenly Returns Home
China’s most outspoken ambassador in Africa, Lin Songtian, abruptly left his post in South Africa yesterday just a few days after news had broke that he had been ordered back to China. Lin published ...
African Citizens in Wuhan and the Evacuation Conundrum
The increasingly desperate pleas from African students to be evacuated from the epicenter of the Novel Coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China raises broader, thornier questions about how Africa should deal with its colonial past. A past that still casts a long shadow over much of the continent. ...
Tweet of the Day: 2020 is Likely Going to be the Year When the Tiny Kingdom of eSwatini Becomes a Big International Relations Issue
eSwatini, formerly known as Swaziland, is not a country that often registers as an important player in major global disputes but from the looks of it that may change in 2020. The Kingdom is now the last country in Africa that formally recognizes Taiwan and that has ...
Prices for African Exports to China Fall Precipitously, While the Cost of Chinese Imports Surges
The dramatic economic slowdown underway now in China due to the COVID-19 outbreak is acutely felt now across Africa's economies in ways both large and small. Given the close economic ties between China and the overwhelming majority of African countries, the scale of the impact is expected ...
Rumors, Fear and Panic About COVID-19 Becoming Increasingly Pervasive in Some Rural Communities in Kenya
Anger and suspicions towards Chinese nationals in rural Kenya, many of who are workers on various infrastructure projects, are rising amid fears they're infected with the deadly COVID-19 virus. Last week, there were widespread reports of a Sinohydro employee who purportedly returned from China infected with Novel ...
With the Help of an Emoji, the Kenyan Government Reaffirms it Will Not Evacuate Students From Wuhan
The spokesperson for the Kenyan government took to Twitter on Friday to make it as clear as possible that the administration will not evacuate students from the epicenter of the virus in Wuhan, China. There's been a raging debate on what ...
African Health Ministers Convene Emergency AU Meeting to Coordinate Responses to COVID-19
The African Union convened an emergency meeting on Saturday to discuss a coordinated continental response to the burgeoning COVID-19 crisis. Dozens of health ministers from across Africa were joined by leaders from the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the World ...
A Taliban security personnel operating an anti-aircraft gun keeps watch for Pakistani airstrikes near the Torkham border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan in the Nangarhar province on February 27, 2026 following overnight cross-border fighting between the two countries. Photo by AIMAL ZAHIR / AFP
Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif declared "open war" against Afghanistan on Friday amid a surge of fighting between the two South Asian neighbors. Pakistan said it's retaliating against Afghanistan for a series of attacks, including a suicide bombing in early February that killed at least 36 people ...
The Challenge of Responding to the Zambian Crisis
Zambia’s slow creep towards an official default is raising a lot of discussion about how to avoid this kind of crisis from spreading. Not surprisingly, much of this focus is falling on China, and rightly so. China’s insistence on handling successive troubled loans on an opaque case-by-case ...
Russian and Chinese Propaganda Efforts in Africa
Combatting fake news, misinformation and outright propaganda is one of the foremost challenges confronting policymakers in Africa and elsewhere around the world. Some of that misleading information is distributed organically while other memes are intentionally deployed by governments to influence local ...
As Zambia Nears Default, Analysts Examine What Went Wrong
Although Zambia missed a $42.5 million bond payment on November 14th, and effectively defaulted on that portion of its debt, it's still technically not in default yet. It will probably officially cross that line within the next few days, making it the first African country this year ...
Many Kenyans Surprised and Somewhat Perturbed That the Chinese Contractor Building the Nairobi Expressway is Going to Make a LOT of Money
The China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), a Chinese state-owned construction company, is forecast to earn almost a billion dollars in profits over the 27 years that it will operate the new Nairobi Expressway that's now under construction. Details of the ...
Chinese Oil Buying From Saudi Arabia Surges, Likely at Africa’s Expense
Saudi Arabia is emerging as an increasingly important hub on China's Belt and Road Initiative as Beijing turns to the Kingdom for an increasingly large share of its oil procurement. Last year, two-way trade surged 23% year-on-year to $78 billion, and even amid the ...
With Chinese Loans Coming Due, Ethiopia Moves Forward With Ethio Telecom Privatization Plan
The Ethiopian government is moving forward with plans to sell off a 45% stake of the state-owned Ethio Telecom along with two more telecom licenses even though this may not be the best time to do that given the weak economy and the escalating conflict in the ...
China Combines Military Outreach with PPE Diplomacy in the DRC
China's ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo handed over a donation on behalf of the People's Liberation Army to an officer from the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC). The donation of health supplies is part of a larger PLA engagement strategy to foster ...