Day: December 2, 2021
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Wang Yi Gives Boost to Abiy With Official Visit to Ethiopia
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi made a bold diplomatic statement with a previously unannounced visit to Ethiopia. The trip was seemingly intended to send a strong message of support to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and, at the same time, rebuke mounting Western pressure against Addis Ababa.
Related Posts
Chinese State Media and Ethiopian Twitter Are Gleefully Comparing How Wang and Blinken Handled Ethiopia
Wang Yi's surprise visit to Ethiopia on Wednesday sparked an online meme among Chinese state media staff and Ethiopian Twitter users about the stark difference between how U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken addressed the Ethiopian crisis and the Chinese Foreign Minister's approach.
A French Government-owned TV Network Published a Racist Political Cartoon About China’s Vaccine Pledge to Africa
It's remarkable that in 2021, no one in the editorial department at the French television network TV5Monde thought that publishing a political cartoon featuring a black African character with a spear and shield might be considered a bit, well, racist. And, apparently, no one on the broadcaster's ...
Europe Unveils Its €300 Billion Alternative to China’s Belt and Road
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen revealed the details of its highly anticipated Global Gateway infrastructure development initiative that aims to provide an alternative for developing countries to China's Belt and Road Initiative. In all, the EU aims to raise ...
No, Uganda’s Entebbe International Airport Was Not Re-Branded “China Ebb International Airport”
There have been all sorts of rumors, misinformation, and outright fake news circulating over the past two weeks about the fate of the Entebbe International Airport in Uganda. Many have reported that the airport has been seized by China as a result of Uganda failing to repay ...
Uganda’s Museveni Calls on China to Grant Full Duty-Free Access For African Products
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni called on China to further expand duty-free access to its vast market for African products. In a wide-ranging interview with Bloomberg News, the president acknowledged that China does already provide some tax-free privileges to African products, but now he'd like ...
How China is Facilitating Africa’s “Structural Transformation”
For much of the past 20 years, China has been the indispensable actor in African infrastructure development, financing the construction of thousands of kilometers of new railways and roads along with ports, airports, and power stations. But has it been enough ...
Huawei North Africa CEO Says Company Remains Committed to Africa Amid the Pandemic and Pressure From U.S.
Huawei's CEO for North Africa, Terry He (photo), struck a defiant tone in a recent interview with the French newsweekly Le Point about the challenges the telecom giant is facing from the United States and its business prospects in Africa amid the ongoing pandemic:
Chinese Embassy in DRC and Sicomines React With Fury to Social Video That Purportedly Shows Exhumation of Mine Worker Killed on the Job
China's ambassador to the DR Congo, Zhu Jing, reacted angrily on Monday to a video circulating on Congolese Twitter that purportedly shows a Sicomines worker exhuming the corpse of one of his colleagues (NSFW). The video was posted over ...
Egypt Takes Delivery of 2 Million Doses of Sinovac Vaccines
Two million doses of Chinese-made Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Egypt on Monday, adding to the total of more than 14 million jabs Beijing has provided Cairo. The Ministry of Health said the vaccines will first be tested before being distributed to vaccination centers around the country.
Chinese Vaccine Shipments to Africa Edge Up Slightly Last Week But Still Lag Far Behind Other Regions
Shipments of COVID-19 vaccines from China to various African countries is now closing in on 100 million doses delivered. But overall the number of jabs committed to the continent is a small fraction of distributions to other regions. With 86.6 million ...
The China-Mediterranean Observer: Exploring the Ramifications of Iran’s Membership to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization
We start this issue of the ChinaMed Observer with the new developments in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). On September 17, during the SCO Summit in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, Iran’s permanent membership in the organization was finalized. Many Iranian politicians and experts have voiced enthusiastic opinions of ...
With FOCAC Coming, China-Africa Relations Gain New Prominence on National TV in China
Two of China's leading authorities on Sino-African relations appeared in a nationally-broadcast hour-long show to discuss the current state of Chinese engagement in Africa and to answer questions from a studio audience. The Chinese Foreign Ministry's top diplomat for sub-Saharan Africa, Wu Peng, and Fudan University Professor ...
News24: South African Intelligence Concerned ANC MP Xiaomei Havard is Sharing Secrets With China
South Africa's State Security Agency, the country's intelligence service, has concluded there is a "high likelihood" that ANC MP Xiaomei Havard (张晓梅) may be passing on classified information to the Chinese Communist Party, according to a bombshell report published Wednesday on South Africa's online ...
Hichilema Acknowledges Zambia’s Debt “Hole” is Bigger Than He Thought
Newly-elected President Hakainde Hichilema's brief honeymoon with the international financial community may have come to an end on Wednesday when he publicly acknowledged what's long been suspected: that Zambia's hidden debts are far more extensive than what's been publicly disclosed. Zambia’s ...
Chinese EV Battery Makers Push New Cobalt-Free Power Packs
Two seemingly contradictory trends are underway in China's electric vehicle battery market. On the one hand, there's a greater push to import ever-larger quantities of cobalt from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. At the same time, there are also rapid moves to develop ...
Mnangagwa: “We Are Not Worried About Those Who Get Angry Because China Has Helped Us.”
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa toured the construction site of the new Robert Mugabe International Airport expansion in Harare on Wednesday. The expansion is being financed and built by China. After the tour, President Mnangagwa took aim at critics, presumably in the U.S. and UK, of ...
Thanks to a “Partnership” With China, President Kenyatta Breaks Ground For New Military Hospital
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta had a photo op atop a heavy earth mover on Wednesday at the Kabete Military Barracks in Nairobi to break ground on a massive new state-of-the-art military hospital that will be built in "partnership" with China. ...
Chinese Beverage Brand Gante Thinks African Basketball Fans Will Want to Buy Its “Hundred Year Old” Bottled Water
Uganda upset Nigeria on Wednesday to move on to the quarterfinals of the AfroBasket 2021 tournament in Kigali... equally interesting, though, at the game were ads for the Chinese beverage brand Ganten and its 百岁山 (Hundred Year Old) bottled water brand that were on ...
Why the Myanmar-China New Passage is Potentially a Very Big Deal For Africa
China successfully completed its first test run of an important sea-road-rail trade route that connects the Port of Yangon in Myanmar to the Sichuan provincial capital of Chengdu in southern China. A shipment arrived from Singapore at the capital ...
Fearful of an Attack, Namibian Police Increase Protection of Chinese Nationals and Businesses
Chinese and Namibian authorities are sufficiently concerned about the possibility of a "terrorist attack" that regional Namibian police have been ordered to tighten security for Chinese nationals and businesses operating in the country. Namibia's police Inspector General Sebastian Ndeitunga said the move ...
Chinese Mining Company in the DRC “Regrets” Recent Labor Abuse Case Involving Two Soldiers, But Doesn’t Take Responsibility
The Chinese-run mining company at the center of a high-profile controversy over labor abuse in the Democratic Republic of the Congo issued its first response to the videos that went viral last week showing Congolese soldiers brutally whipping a local employee while Chinese managers looked on.
Chinese Diplomats in Africa May Be Signaling They’re Paying Closer Attention to Local Labor Issues
China's newly arrived ambassador to Uganda, Zhang Lizhong, (pictured far left foreground) conducted a site inspection on Saturday at the Entebbe International Airport, which is currently being expanded by Chinese contractors. The visit itself was an unremarkable public diplomacy event. But ...
The Fact That Someone From Zim VP Chiwenga’s Team Became Infected With COVID in Beijing is an Embarrassment For Both China and Zimbabwe
New details are emerging about the controversy surrounding a member of Zimbabwean Vice President Constantino Chiwenga's delegation who was confirmed last week to be infected with COVID while on a visit to Beijing. The revelation that someone thought to be a ...
Chinese COVID Vaccines Land in Tanzania and Uganda
A second batch of vaccines from China landed on the semi-autonomous Tanzanian island of Zanzibar over the weekend. The arrival of these vaccines marks a dramatic shift in Tanzanian policy. Prior to his death earlier this year, President ...
The U.S. Senate Wants to Know What Washington Needs to Do to Be Competitive in Africa
A United States Senate subcommittee convened a hearing last week to discuss what the U.S. needs to do to be more competitive in Africa in terms of both trade and investment. While the hearing was ostensibly not intended to focus on ...
China Promotes Its Poverty Alleviation Policies to African Diplomats
China's successful track record in eliminating extreme poverty over the past several decades is emerging as a potent soft power diplomacy initiative in its relations with African countries. China now regularly touts its poverty eradication efforts in its official propaganda
Josep Borrell’s Misguided Views on Chinese Vaccines in Africa
European Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell is really unhappy with how the bloc's member states have hoarded vaccines for themselves at the expense of developing countries in Africa and Latin America. On Friday he criticized the EU's contributions to those regions as "insufficient."
When It Comes to China, Africa and Central Asia Actually Have Quite a Bit in Common
It's not obvious, but when it comes to managing ties with China, countries in Central Asia and Africa have a lot more in common with one another than many would first assume. Both are among ...
Until the U.S. Actually Starts to Ship Vaccines Overseas, Criticism of Chinese Vaccine Distribution Doesn’t Fly With Many in the Global South
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken renewed his criticism of China's so-called "strings attached" vaccine diplomacy around the world during an online roundtable discussion with Japanese media. But the Secretary's comments were not well received among many in the Global South, ...
The Narrative on the Efficacy of Chinese-Made Vaccines is Beginning to Change
Brazil's decision to conduct a real-world experiment that tested the effectiveness of the CoronaVac vaccine made by the Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac is contributing to a rapid shift in the perception of whether Chinese-made jabs will protect people from either being hospitalized or dying from ...
Chinese Vaccine Shipments to Africa Increase Slightly, But Still Far Below That of Other Regions Around the World
Chinese vaccine deliveries to Africa reached 20 million doses last week, according to the latest tracking report by the Beijing-based Bridge Consulting. Although that figure is up slightly from previous weeks, Africa still lags far behind Asia Pacific (126.5 million vaccines delivered) and Latin ...
New Joint Pakistani-Chinese COVID Vaccine Launches While Hungary Becomes the Latest Country to Sign a Vaccine Production Deal with China
Residents in Pakistan will now have access to a new COVID-19 vaccine that was jointly developed with China's CanSino as part of an effort to relieve acute vaccine shortages. The new PakVac that launched on Tuesday was reportedly developed in Pakistan under the supervision of CanSino executives ...
With a Second Chinese Vaccine Getting the Nod From the WHO, Pressure Mounts on the U.S. to Get Its Own Vaccine Distribution Drive Going
The World Health Organization granted emergency use approval to Sinovac's COVID-19 vaccine, the second Chinese jab to get the global health body's seal of approval. In a statement on Tuesday, the WHO said Sinovac “meets international standards for safety, efficacy, and ...
The Pandemic and Geopolitics Have Created New Opportunities For South African Wines in China
Whilst COVID-19 disrupted trade flows across the globe and pushed industries into financial trouble, the South African wine sector has, somewhat remarkably, been spared. This is largely due to wine exports to China soaring by 50% after Beijing enforced a 212% tariff on Australian wines ...
Disclose the Debt!
If you’re into curling up with a cup of coffee and an 85-page report on Chinese lending, you can’t go wrong with AidData’s How China Lends: A Rare Look into 100 Debt Contracts with Foreign Governments (PDF). One of the most striking findings in ...
China Wants to Be a Big Player in the Middle East
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's latest six-nation tour of the Middle East and Turkey revealed that Beijing now aims to play a much larger role in the region. During his trip, Wang signed a high-profile ...
Pressure Mounting on U.S. and European Governments to Ease IP Restrictions on Vaccines — Both to Relieve Vaccine Inequity and to Counter China, Russia
Calls are growing louder in the U.S. and Europe for those governments to waive intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines so developing countries would be able to manufacture their own jabs and narrow the current vaccine inequity gap. These ...
China’s Vaccine Distribution Campaign Now Extends to the Military With PLA Donation to the Philippines Army
The Philippines Army began inoculations of its forces this week using a batch of Sinovac COVID-19 jabs donated by the People's Liberation Army. So far, the PLA's vaccine donations have been confined to Asia where it's also given to armed forces in Pakistan, Cambodia, and Mongolia.
From Asia to Africa to the Americas, China is Shaping the Vaccine Narrative With a Steady Stream of Powerful Images
The optics of China's COVID-19 distribution around the world. U.S. & European governments have yet to deploy an effective strategic communications plan to rival this kind of visual messaging that's been very effective to date in shaping the narrative on vaccine inequity.
Vaccine Crossroads
At present we’re in a moment of both hope and fear. The vaccines are finally rolling out, and with them, we’re seeing a glimmer of a post-COVID world. But is that only a mirage? The decisions that will decide that answer are being made now. A ...
Africa’s Role In the Current India-China Rivalry
Africa is emerging as a front in two great power rivalries, one between China and the U.S. and the other between China and India. The increasingly bitter feud between Asia's two largest countries now extends beyond the sub-continent into the Indian ...
Ethiopia’s Appeal For Debt Relief Puts China’s Loan Portfolio Under the Spotlight
Ten months ago, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was the first African leader to sound the alarm over the debt crisis that would ensue from the then-nascent outbreak of COVID-19. African economies, he warned face an "existential threat" from the combined effects of an unprecedented ...
With Its Chinese Parent Company on the Verge of Bankruptcy, the Fate of Ghana’s Africa World Airlines Looks Grim
The future of Ghana's largest airline is up in the air now that its parent, Hainan-based HNA Group, has effectively buckled under the weight of almost $100 billion of debt and widespread reports of embezzlement.
China Brushes Aside Criticism of Its Vaccine Distribution, Says Its Fulfilling President Xi Jinping’s Promise to Make Jabs a “Global Public Good”
China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin parried any critique of Beijing's vaccine distribution drive around the world, especially in developing countries, with an indirect diss against rivals in the United States and Europe. "We act on our words," he said at yesterday's regular press ...
Lots of Hot Button, Emotional Issues Help Explain the Widespread Anger to Xiaomei Havard’s Appointment as ANC MP in South Africa’s Parliament
There's widespread anger on and offline in South Africa over the appointment of Xiaomei Havard, a naturalized South African citizen of Chinese descent, as a member of parliament. She was sworn in last Wednesday which sparked almost immediate outrage. ...
Lessons From ASEAN on How Africa Can Better Manage Ties With China
While Chinese engagement in Africa is a relatively new phenomenon, dating back around 20 years now, countries in Southeast Asia have millennia of experience in managing ties with Beijing. Today, the 10 countries that make up the Association of Southeast Asian ...
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 ...
Wang Yi Gives Boost to Abiy With Official Visit to Ethiopia
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi made a bold diplomatic statement with a previously unannounced visit to Ethiopia. The trip was seemingly intended to send a strong message of support to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and, at the same time, rebuke mounting Western pressure against Addis Ababa.
Chinese State Media and Ethiopian Twitter Are Gleefully Comparing How Wang and Blinken Handled Ethiopia
Wang Yi's surprise visit to Ethiopia on Wednesday sparked an online meme among Chinese state media staff and Ethiopian Twitter users about the stark difference between how U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken addressed the Ethiopian crisis and the Chinese Foreign Minister's approach.
A French Government-owned TV Network Published a Racist Political Cartoon About China’s Vaccine Pledge to Africa
It's remarkable that in 2021, no one in the editorial department at the French television network TV5Monde thought that publishing a political cartoon featuring a black African character with a spear and shield might be considered a bit, well, racist. And, apparently, no one on the broadcaster's ...
Europe Unveils Its €300 Billion Alternative to China’s Belt and Road
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen revealed the details of its highly anticipated Global Gateway infrastructure development initiative that aims to provide an alternative for developing countries to China's Belt and Road Initiative. In all, the EU aims to raise ...
No, Uganda’s Entebbe International Airport Was Not Re-Branded “China Ebb International Airport”
There have been all sorts of rumors, misinformation, and outright fake news circulating over the past two weeks about the fate of the Entebbe International Airport in Uganda. Many have reported that the airport has been seized by China as a result of Uganda failing to repay ...