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Sicomines Wanted a Dialogue With Congolese Labor Advocates… And They Sure Got an Earful

The management at the embattled Sino-Congolese mining company Sicomines reached out to local labor activists for a dialogue about the working conditions at the Chinese-run joint venture.  They got an earful last week, particularly from labor advocate Don ...

China’s Largest EV Battery Manufacturer Wants to Move Beyond Cobalt

While Chinese companies are investing billions of dollars to build new cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo as part of a broader effort to control the global electric vehicle battery market, they're also moving fast to develop new batteries that, in the future, won't rely ...

Biden Met With an African Leader Last Week, Didn’t Mention China by Name

U.S. President Joe Biden appears to be taking the advice of advisors and scholars, who've told him repeatedly over the past eight months to avoid talking about China when discussing Africa.  During a brief visit to the White House by Kenyan ...

China Could Factor Into the U.S. Debate Over Duty-Free Trade with Ethiopia

A lively debate is underway in the United States now over whether Trade Representative Katherine Tai should remove Ethiopia's duty-free access to the U.S. market as part of the African Growth and Opportunity Act or AGOA. The White House is threatening ...

Beijing Responds to Media Reports that the U.S. Embassy in Zimbabwe is Paying $1,000 For Journalists to Write Anti-China Stories

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian responded last week to unsubstantiated news reports that the U.S. embassy in Zimbabwe hired an agency to train local journalists to write stories critical of China. Zhao told reporters at the regular press briefing in ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

Confusing Developments in “Development”

This week I’m in Brussels, where I took part in a workshop on how the EU should shape its development strategy in response to China’s global influence.
I have joked in the past that it feels like I’ve attended this same ‘EU, Africa, and External Development Partners’ conference for ten years straight. 

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The Chinese Embassy in Mogadishu Seethes Over Taiwan’s Presence in Somaliland

Although China has not said much of Taiwan's trade office in the self-declared state of Somaliland since it opened last year, it's nonetheless evident that Taipei's official presence in the Horn of Africa gives them heartburn, particularly among diplomats at the embassy in Mogadishu. ...

Burundi Takes Delivery of Its First Shipment of Chinese COVID Vaccines

Once a holdout on the COVID-19 vaccination front, Burundi is now accepting vaccine donations from countries around the world, including China. A batch of 500,000 doses of Sinopharm arrived last week in the economic hub of Bujumbura. The shipment, $3 million ...

Tshisekedi Appears to Be Looking for an Exit to His Prolonged Standoff With Chinese Mining Companies

On Friday DR Congo President Félix Tshisekedi hinted during a meeting of the Council of Ministers (the DRC's cabinet) that he wants to bring an end to the ongoing dispute with Chinese mining companies over unfair contracts. The President