Félix Tshisekedi, the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, left for a trip to Beijing last week amid sky-high expectations of both new deals and the significant reworking of current agreements widely seen in his country as favoring Chinese actors. None of this happened.
Instead, he returned with a fistful of non-binding MoUs to widespread dissatisfaction back home. Since then, DRC officials have worked overtime to try and spin the trip as a longer-term ...
Day: February 1, 2021
Vaccines and the Changing International Order
The Chief Reporter for Germany's state broadcaster Deutsche Welle, Miodrag Soric, can't believe what he's seeing. China is turning the battle for access to COVID-19 vaccines into a tremendous soft power win in the Global South -- and they're doing it at the expense of the West!
From Africa to Asia to the Americas and Even Europe, Countries Scramble for Chinese-Made COVID-19 Vaccines
Countries across the Global South and now even in Europe scrambled this weekend to source COVID-19 vaccines from pretty much anywhere they could buy them -- which in many cases brought them to China's doorstep. Amid widespread shortages, the European Union ...
European Analysts Become Increasingly Worried About Geopolitical Consequences of China’s Global Vaccine Push
European international relations scholars are expressing mounting concern over the long-term geopolitical consequences of China's assertive campaign to provide developing countries with COVID-19 vaccines. It's clear the European foreign policy establishment, both analysts and in the media, seem to regard Chinese ...
Chinese State Media Gloats About Survey Results That Show China is More Popular Than the U.S. in MENA
Chinese state media outlets this weekend touted the findings of a recent Arab Barometer public opinion survey released in January, which showed much higher approval ratings for China compared to the United States. The survey in six Middle East and North ...
Pay-TV Giant StarTimes Increasingly Becomes Vehicle for Official Chinese Propaganda
The Beijing-based African pay-TV giant StarTimes announced last week it will broadcast a government-produced TV series that, according to the Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua, "seeks to boost Sino-Africa relations." This is the latest move by the ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
DRC Government Tries to Reframe Underwhelming Beijing Visit
Webinar: China’s Becoming Increasingly Sophisticated In Its Use of Media to Drive Its Narrative
The Berlin-based think tank Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS) recently hosted a webinar that focused on how Chinese government actors are becoming increasingly effective in their use of media to drive their agendas in both Europe and Africa. The ...
Anti-Chinese Xenophobia Erupts in South Africa After Chinese-Born ANC MP Sworn Into Office
Naturalized South African-citizen Xiaomei Havard's swearing-in last week to become an ANC member of parliament sparked a strong backlash online under the hashtags #SArejectsXiaomeiHavard and #PutSouthAfricansFirst. Havard was named to replace the late minister in the ...