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African Coal Exporters Benefitting From China’s Ongoing Electricity Crisis

China is scouring the globe for new sources of coal in an effort to stem the blackouts that have afflicted millions of residents and businesses in at least nine provinces over the past several weeks. While the ongoing crisis is now threatening China's post-pandemic ...

Even After China Bailed on Its Sengwa Coal Plant in Zimbabwe, RioZim Seems Unusually Confident It’ll Find Other Backers

Many presumed that the $3 billion Sengwa coal-fired power plant project in Zimbabwe was doomed after the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China withdrew its support earlier this year as the project's largest financier. Not so, according to plant's owner RioZim that said in its half-year trading ...

Chinese Community in the DR Congo’s Mining Belt Report More Robberies and Break-In Attempts

Chinese residents and businesses in the southern Congolese mining city of Kolwezi report an increase in armed robberies and attempted break-ins.  It's not clear from the accounts on the Lualaba Chinese Chamber of Commerce WeChat channel if the assailants ...

While the EU & U.S. Talk About Competing With China to Build Infrastructure in the Global South, Japan’s Experience in Vietnam Should Give Them Pause

Over the past month, the United States and Europe have doubled down on their commitment to challenging China's Belt and Road Initiative by launching new initiatives to build infrastructure in developing countries. Secretary of State Antony Blinken this week 

Africa Accounts For Just 1.7% of China’s Total Global Investment Stock, Says MOFCOM

Even amid the pandemic, Chinese investment overseas last year increased by 12.3% to $153.71 billion, according to a new report published last week by the Ministry of Commerce, National Bureau of Statistics, and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. 2.8% of ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

Plugging into African Agency

After several years of declining funding, the African end of the Belt and Road Initiative seems to be roaring back. The newest Griffith University/Green Development Finance Center data on the Belt and Road Initiative shows that engagement with Africa jumped by 395%, while a few big projects boosted engagement in Nigeria alone more than twelvefold.
These shifts indicate a window of opportunity for African electrification. 60% of Africans still ...

Q&A: How Illegal Chinese Logging Fuels the Islamic Insurgency in Mozambique

This Spring’s crackdown on illegal mining activities in Ghana, including by some Chinese nationals, and the recent high-profile incidents of illicit mining by Chinese companies in the eastern DR Congo have put a spotlight on the issue of unregulated Chinese resource extraction in other ...