WEEK IN REVIEW: Ethiopian Airlines Moving to Capitalize on Growing China-Africa E-Commerce Trade

File image of ground crews at Bole International airport in Addis Ababa unloading an Ethiopian Airlines plane. TONY KARUMBA / AFP

There’s good news and bad news in Kenya’s latest trade figures, released by the National Bureau of Statistics. The good news is that exports jumped 17% in the January-November period last year to $5.9 billion. Higher regional demand, particularly from Uganda, for Kenyan food and industrial output helped to boost the figures. The bad news, however, is the country’s trade deficit widened a lot in that same period from $12 billion to $16 billion, mostly due to a surge of imported industrial supplies, machinery, and transportation equipment from China. (THE STAR)

The international law enforcement agency Interpol seized thousands of ivory pieces, pangolin scales and other illicit wildlife products in an eight-week operation against Africa-Asia trafficking syndicates. “Operation Golden Strike” involved 23 states including China and more than a dozen African countries. The agency said a number of suspects were arrested in the operation but did not specify how many or their country of origin. (INTERPOL)

  • Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis.
  • Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations.
  • Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in Africa and throughout the Global South.

China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening.

Subscribe today for unlimited access.

OR

Already a subscriber? Log in Click Here to Learn More
by Eric Olander

Most Read

1
Developing Countries’ Debt Servicing Costs to China Are Significant, but Nowhere Near as Much as Other Creditors
2 Chinese Military Fans Discuss Why Indonesia Bought Rafale Instead of J-10C
3
Chinese Cargo Planes Secretly Ferrying Supplies to Iran, Claim Online Sleuths
4
Indonesia Goes Nuclear, Taps China and Russia for Modular Reactors
5
Thailand in Last-Minute U.S. Talks as 36% Tariff Looms
6 Trump’s Contradictory Iran Strategy Leaves U.S. Weaker After War’s End, Says Chinese Commentator

You Might Like

Ethiopian Airways Set to Start Three New Direct Flights to China in 2020

Africa’s leading national flag carrier, Ethiopian Airlines, is in the final stages of regulatory approval to launch a trio of new direct routes between its hub in Addis Ababa and major Chinese trading ...

There Are Lots of Ways to Still Fly Direct Between China and Africa

Amid growing concern over Ethiopian Airlines’ refusal to halt its direct flights to China in an effort to stem the spread of the coronavirus outbreak that is ravaging Wuhan and other regions in ...

Ethiopian Airlines CEO: Stopping Direct Flights to China is Not an Option

It looks increasingly unlikely that Africa’s largest airline, Ethiopian Airlines, will join most other African airlines and temporarily halt direct flights to China due to the coronavirus outbreak. While six of eight African carriers ...

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 ...

What is The China-Global South Project?

Independent

The China-Global South Project is passionately independent, non-partisan and does not advocate for any country, company or culture.

News

A carefully curated selection of the day’s most important China-Global South stories. Updated 24 hours a day by human editors. No bots, no algorithms.

Analysis

Diverse, often unconventional insights from scholars, analysts, journalists and a variety of stakeholders in the China-Global South discourse.

Networking

A unique professional network of China-Africa scholars, analysts, journalists and other practioners from around the world.

More about CGSP