Italy has announced its formal withdrawal from the Belt and Road Initiative after joining the China-centered infrastructure and investment project in 2019.
The timing of the announcement that Rome won’t renew its BRI commitment is notable. It came only a day before the EU-China summit, which kicks off on Thursday. The summit will likely be more contentious than usual, with European leaders expected to push China on the treatment of EU firms amid discussions ...
Day: March 23, 2022
Wang Yi Makes First-Ever Appearance by a Chinese FM at Meeting of World’s Largest Islamic Body
Wang Yi made history on Tuesday by becoming the first Chinese foreign minister invited to the annual meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the largest international organization of Muslim countries. Wang attended the gathering in Islamabad, Pakistan as a special guest.
Wang Yi Meets With African and Mideast FMs on Sidelines of OIC Gathering
Wang Yi used the opportunity of his visit to the OIC meeting in Pakistan for side-line talks with counterparts from prominent members of the organization of Islamic states, including Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Egypt, Turkey and Thailand. These talks reportedly covered regional ...
Somaliland President Taps into Washington’s China Issues
President Muse Bihi Abdi, the leader of the separatist region of Somaliland, wound up his visit to Washington, D.C. with significantly more U.S. support for independence. Somaliland is officially a province of Somalia, but declared independence in 1991. The president’s visit follows months of intense lobbying by ...
No, China Did Not “Provide Weapons to Farmajo Regime in Somalia”
Washington's former top diplomat for Africa, Tibor Nagy, posted a highly misleading tweet on Tuesday that accused China of "hypocrisy" over remarks made by Chinese Special Envoy Xue Bing, who told Daily Nation correspondent Aggrey Mutambo earlier this week that "China will send out engineers ...
China’s Ambassador to Somalia Makes Clear That When It Comes to Taiwan, There’s No Room For Compromise
Occasionally, China's famously media-shy ambassadors in Africa come out of their shells and engage in surprisingly frank discussions on social media. Admittedly, it doesn't happen very often but it did on Monday over on Fei Shengchao's Twitter page when the Chinese envoy to Somalia responded to critical ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
Awkward Timing as Italy Withdraws from BRI
Excitement, Rumors in Nairobi about New China-built Expressway
The growing excitement in the Kenyan capital about the upcoming inauguration of its new Chinese-built Nairobi Expressway is also spawning a flurry of viral rumors. On Tuesday, The Standard newspaper published a fact-check article that debunked reports that the expressway has already opened to traffic. This followed widely ...
China’s Emerging “African Pawn” Position on Ukraine
The reluctance by about half of African countries to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine is now being leveraged by media outlets closely aligned with the government and the Party as a way to bolster its own position on the issue with domestic audiences.
One of China’s Elder Statesmen of African Diplomacy Makes the Case For Why the Continent Must Remain a Strategic Priority
China’s growing relationship with Africa is crucial for attaining its wider global goals, according to veteran diplomat Kuang Weilin, China’s first ambassador to the African Union, and a highly-regarded commentator on African affairs in China. Kuang spoke ...