Day: July 5, 2021
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Week in Review: Hostages Rescued in Mali, Rwandan Agribusiness & Nigeria Joins AIIB
Malian security forces on Monday rescued three Chinese nationals kidnapped by unknown assailants after the trio escaped their captors over the weekend. The three construction workers and two colleagues from Mauritania were seized on July 17. While the Mauritanians were freed 10 days later, the Chinese were held ...
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Why Perceptions of China Vary So Much Depending on Where You Live
Public perceptions of China vary markedly depending on where you live in the world. In wealthy advanced economies in the Global North, negative sentiment towards China is now at all-time highs and ...
Ghanaian Government Blames COVID For Delay in Chinese Construction Projects But Says Work Will Be Done on Time
A top Ghanaian government spokesman pushed back on accusations that the administration has been slow to build the promised infrastructure projects as part of a controversial $2 billion resource swap deal with the Chinese state-owned conglomerate Sinohydro. President ...
While Sinohydro’s Road Work Maybe Progressing Slowly in Ghana, Government Supporters Insist Progress is Being Made
Government supporters published videos on social media this weekend to push back against the narrative that progress isn't being made as part of the $2 billion Sinohydro-bauxite deal. Also, last month, the news site Graphic Online ...
Nigeria State Governor’s Tirade Against a Chinese Contractor Goes Viral
The governor of the northern Nigerian state of Kogi, Yahaya Bello, publicly berated a representative from the Changjiang Construction Nigerian Ltd. last week in a video that sparked widespread outrage online and fed into the narrative that Chinese construction companies build low-quality infrastructure, like the hospital in question ...
We Got Our First Peek at B3W, But It’s Still Not Clear What the U.S. is Trying to Do
The Biden administration appears to be ramping up its efforts to get the Build Back Better World (B3W) initiative off the ground. In what was the first action related to the program since it was announced over the summer at the G7 summit in England, a high-level ...
Chinese Mobile Phone Brands Want to do in Latin America What They’ve Done in Africa
Chinese mobile phone makers are steadily expanding their market share in Latin America where they're now among the top three brands in some of the region's largest markets including Mexico, Peru and Chile, according to data from the telecommunications research agency Counterpoint.
Sicomines is Bracing For a Brutal Report From the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
The Sino-Congolese mining giant Sicomines is already trying to discredit a highly-anticipated report by the Congolese branch of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative even before the NGO's findings have been published. Radio France Internationale and other media ...
Author Erik Bruyland on Why No One Should Be Surprised That the Sicomines Deal Is Now a Huge Mess
It was once described as the "Deal of the Century" now, 13 years later, the Sino-Congolese joint venture known as Sicomines is the focal point of a bitter dispute over whether this $6 billion copper and cobalt venture was established on wholly unfair terms. ...
New Contingent of Chinese Blue Helmets Arrive in DR Congo
Nearly one hundred Chinese PLA soldiers operating as UN peacekeepers arrived in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Friday. None of the troops will be assigned to combat roles and instead will support existing Chinese engineering and medical detachments.
Kenyan Fishers Describe Horrorific Conditions Aboard Chinese Trawlers
Kenyan fishers working aboard Chinese trawlers in the Indian Ocean report widespread mistreatment and abuse by their Chinese managers, even threats of being pushed overboard, according to a story published in today's Nation newspaper. In addition to the ...
China’s Role in Ghana’s Unfolding Fishing Catastrophe
While the Ghanaian government took decisive action earlier this year to crack down on illegal mining known as Galamsey where Chinese illegal mining interests have been active for years, Accra has done absolutely nothing to combat persistent illegal fishing in its ...
Why the Pentagon May Be Misreading China’s Plans For Military Expansion in Africa
Back in March, General Stephen Townsend, the commander of U.S. forces in Africa (AFRICOM), triggered widespread anxiety within the American national security community when he speculated that China is looking to build a military base on Africa's Atlantic coast.
One Week to Go Before the Zambian Elections and President Lungu Leans Hard on Chinese-Built Infrastructure
One week from today Zambian voters will go to the polls to vote for their next president and the ruling Patriotic Front is relying heavily on Chinese-financed infrastructure development to get its man, President Edgar Lungu, re-elected. “Look at the infrastructure ...
China’s Huge Chili Pepper Market Now Open to Rwandan Exporters
The Rwandan embassy in Beijing is celebrating the opening of the China market for its country's chili pepper exporters. A 200kg shipment arrived in the central Chinese province of Hunan on Wednesday, making Rwanda the first African country to export peppers like this to China.
Ambassador: More Chinese FDI Going to the DR Congo Than Anywhere Else in Africa
Chinese companies have invested $176 million dollars in the DR Congo during the first half of this year, more than any other country in Africa, according to Ambassador Zhu Jing. That's basically the only takeaway from Ambassador Zhu's ...
Photo of DRC Soldiers Helping Chinese Small-Scale Miners Sparks Widespread Outrage on Congolese Social Media
This image has been circulating widely on Congolese Twitter for the past 24 hours. It shows Chinese miners working together with DRC army soldiers (FARDC) in what appears to be a form of small-scale mining in the town Bunia in the far eastern province ...
Fact Check: No, 73 Chinese Miners in the DRC Were Not Arrested for Kidnapping and Eating Children
A fake news story is circulating now on Congolese Twitter that claims 73 Chinese miners in Katanga province have been arrested for kidnapping children and then eating them (yes, cannibalism). The story is fake and was debunked by ...
New CSIS Report Compares U.S. and Chinese Military Engagement in Africa
While the number of senior Chinese political officials who visit Africa every year far outpaces those from the United States, it's a very different story when it comes to military visits and overall engagement. In fact, "Beijing’s observable interactions with current ...
An Agricultural Trade Comparison of Africa’s Development Partners: How Does China Measure Up?
Agriculture remains the backbone of many African economies since it accounts for approximately 60% of all employment, a main earner of foreign exchange, source of both savings and tax revenues and accounts for around 40% of the continent’s hard currency. The agricultural sector is the main source ...
G7 Countries Are Going to Learn That Challenging China on Infrastructure is a Lot Easier Said Than Done
When I moved to Vietnam in 2012, Japan had just broken ground on the country's first subway system in the southern commercial hub of Saigon. Back then, there was a lot of excitement around ambitious plans to build half a dozen lines within a decade.
China Tops the Agenda at G7 Foreign Ministers Meeting
China topped the agenda at Tuesday's G7 foreign ministers meeting in London, the first time envoys from the world's seven wealthiest countries have met in person since the COVID-19 outbreak. The ministers spent two hours, four times longer ...
Lull Continues in Chinese Vaccine Deliveries Around the World Ahead of Key Rulings From the WHO and EU
Although Chinese vaccine distributors did make a few deliveries on Tuesday, the quantities remain significantly lower than in previous weeks. It's not entirely clear what's behind the slowdown but it's likely that it could be related to the impending verdict by the World Health Organization about granting ...
As Zambia’s Presidential Election Campaign Heats Up, China Isn’t an Issue…Yet
Zambia's presidential election campaign is now shifting into high gear following last weekend's nomination of President Edgar Lungu as the ruling Patriotic Front's candidate. Meantime, the country's main opposition leader, the United Party for National Development's Hakainde Hichilema (photo), indicated that he's ...
A New Chinese-Built Road in Nigeria Highlights Why Infrastructure is So Important For Local People and, More Importantly, Politicians
Both truckers and workers are celebrating the opening of a new, modern road that leads to the Ogun-Guangdong Free Trade zone in western Nigeria. The recently opened road has dramatically improved transport times for cargo and made it much easier for thousands of workers to get to ...
Why This Chinese Factory Video is Causing Quite a Stir on Social Media in West Africa
A Chinese factory video where a young woman demonstrates how to convert raw cassava into fully processed gari has created quite a bit of buzz in Nigeria and Ghana where gari is a popular indigenous food. Ghanaian entertainment and lifestyle social ...
China’s Global Vaccine Distribution Drive Appears to Have Come to a Halt… At Least For Now
China's once frenetic global vaccine distribution drive appears to have come to a grinding halt, at least temporarily, amid a push to gets jabs into the arms of its own people (photo). As of Sunday, China had inoculated 275 million people domestically.
Most G7 Countries Really Do Want to Challenge China’s BRI, They Just Can’t Agree How
It looks increasingly likely that infrastructure development in the Global South is going to be quite high on the agenda at the upcoming European Union and Group of 7 (G7) meetings in May and June. Specifically, U.S., European and Japanese leaders seem intent on elevating the ongoing ...
China’s Embrace of Iran is Making Israel Very Nervous
Israeli politicians and foreign policy analysts are becoming increasingly alarmed over China's burgeoning ties with Iran, particularly after the signing of a 25-year Comprehensive Strategic Partnership agreement between Beijing and Tehran. But Israel's in a tough bind -- on the one ...
If the U.S. is Going to Criticize China For Human Rights Violations in Xinjiang, Beijing’s South African Envoy is Going to do The Same Over American Police Brutality Against Black People
China's Ambassador to South Africa, Chen Xiaodong, is apparently keen to raise awareness about police brutality against Black people in the United ...
China’s Recent Iran Deal Should be Seen in a Much Broader Context Urges One of China’s Most Prominent Mideast Scholars
There's been a lot of discussion over the past week about the implications of the China-Iran comprehensive strategic partnership agreement the two sides signed during Foreign Minister Wang Yi's recent visit to Tehran. Scholars and analysts in the U.S. and Europe have been struggling to understand the ...
Chinese Professor Identifies Three Risks For China in Beijing’s Recent Iran Deal
The recent signing of a 25-year comprehensive strategic partnership agreement between China and Iran sparked considerable debate within China about whether the benefits of a deal with Tehran are worth the considerable risks to Beijing's broader diplomatic agenda in the Mideast and, more importantly, its ...
Beware of the Chinese Chicken Trope in Zambia
A fascinating on-air skirmish broke out on the FRANCE 24 talk show The Debate last week during a conversation over Chinese investment and influence in Zambia. One of the show's guests, acclaimed China-Zambia scholar Solange Guo Chatelard took the network's correspondent, Nicolas Germain, to task for referencing ...
It’s Been One-Year Since the First COVID Case in Africa: China’s Contribution & COVID Year in Review
On February 14th, 2020, Africa’s first COVID-19 case was reported in Egypt. Since then, there has been widespread speculation about why Africa has not experienced a mass COVID-19 outbreak. At Development Reimagined, our analysis reveals there is no single ‘Africa story’, and that decisive African leadership across ...
Kenya’s Delicate Balancing Act Between the U.S. and China
Kenya has done far better than many countries in fostering robust ties with both the United States and China, particularly in economic relations. Just last week, President Uhuru Kenyatta spoke by phone with his American counterpart Joe Biden and ...
China’s Cutting Back on BRI Financing, But Not For Renewable Energy
China has dramatically cut back financing overseas infrastructure development initiatives, especially for carbon-intensive energy projects involving oil, gas, and coal. From 2016 to 2019, China's two major policy banks slashed lending by a stunning 85%. ...
Wang Yi’s Low-Profile Visit to Nigeria
Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi wrapped up the first day of his weeklong tour to five Africa countries in the Nigerian capital Abuja on Monday. Wang made no public appearances and instead met with various Nigerian ministers including his counterpart Geoffrey Onyeama and Transportation Minister Rotimi ...
While Wang Yi is in Town, Nigeria FM Also Meets With Huawei Delegation
Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama met with a visiting delegation from the local office of the Chinese telecom equipment giant Huawei on Monday, the same day that he also welcomed visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Abuja.
There’s Growing Concern in Kenya Over the Fate of Jack Ma
The apparent disappearance of Alibaba founder Jack Ma is prompting growing concern in Kenya and elsewhere in Africa where the Chinese billionaire has recently built a strong following around his philanthropic ventures.
A China-Africa Angle Makes Its Way Into the Senate Run-Off Election in Georgia
Two conservative U.S. media outlets, Breitbart News and the National Review, used Democrat Senate candidate Jon Ossof's role in producing a 2015 China-Africa documentary for Al Jazeera English as purported evidence that the Georgia politician is purportedly sympathetic to ...
Jack Ma’s Disappearance Is a Setback For Chinese Soft Power in Africa
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi is in Africa at the moment. It has become a multi-decade tradition that the FM's first foreign trip of the year is always to Africa. These trips are arguably less important for what they achieve (although announcements of new deals frequently follow) ...
The China-Mediterranean Observer: How Will a New/Old Biden Mideast Policy Impact China’s Ambitions in the Region?
The killing of the Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the future of American foreign policy toward the Middle East under President Biden, and the tensions between France and the Muslim world are the three key topics of recent Chinese commentaries. The ...
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 ...
An Agricultural Trade Comparison of Africa’s Development Partners: How Does China Measure Up?
Agriculture remains the backbone of many African economies since it accounts for approximately 60% of all employment, a main earner of foreign exchange, source of both savings and tax revenues and accounts for around 40% of the continent’s hard currency. The agricultural sector is the main source ...