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Day: April 13, 2021

Deals, Deals & More Deals. China’s Tech Giants Expand in Africa & the Middle East

2021 has been a busy year so far for China's technology giants as they look to expand their international operations and appear to have their sites set on expanding in both the African and Arabian markets. JD, Didi, iQiyi, and Tencent ...

Unpacking African Agency

Today the South African Institute of International Affairs is holding a webinar featuring new work focusing on African agency in the face of Chinese power. How much power African actors have to shape their engagement with China is one of the field’s most ...

Between the Cut in Chinese Lending and COVID, 2020 Was a Tough Year for East Africa’s Infrastructure Development

The financial crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic combined with a curtailment in Chinese lending contributed to a 35% drop in the number of infrastructure construction projects in East Africa, and a 47% plunge in the value of those projects, according to Deloitte's ...

CSIS’s Judd Devermont Has Two Recommendations For How the U.S. Should Meet the Challenge of China’s BRI in Africa

Judd Devermont is the Africa Program Director at the Center for Strategic Studies, one of Washington's most influential think tanks, and recently spoke with Alexandra de Hoop Scheffer, Director of Research from the German Marshall Fund about how to "re-imagine U.S.-Africa policy."

Chinese Embassies, Ambassadors Stay Largely Quiet on the China CDC Director’s Vaccine Efficacy Controversy

China's normally bombastic diplomatic Twitter accounts in Africa were uncharacteristically silent on Monday with regards to the controversy that broke out over the weekend when Gao Fu, the director of the China CDC, acknowledged that Chinese vaccines are not as effective as the Pfizer and Moderna jabs. ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

India Could Ban Cheap Chinese Phones

The Indian government could push Chinese mobile phone manufacturers out of the lower end of its market, according to a new report by Bloomberg. The possible ban is reportedly aimed at boosting India’s failing domestic phone makers in the lucrative sub-12,000 rupee ($150) sector. 

The move will be a blow to Chinese companies like Xiaomi, RealMe, and Transsion, who make up 80% of sales in the sub-$150 sector. Low-end smartphones occupy a third ...

Columnist: Ghana President Akufo-Addo’s “Beyond Aid” Campaign Apparently Doesn’t Include Donations From China

For years Ghana's president Nana Akufo-Addo has touted his "Ghana Beyond Aid" agenda. Back in 2017 during a visit with French President Emmanuel Macron, the Ghanaian leader said "we have to get away from this mindset of dependence." Well, GhanaWeb columnist Kwesi ...