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Q&A: The African Union Ambassador to China Reflects on the Outcomes of FOCAC and ‘What’s Next’

The 8th Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) was held in Dakar, Senegal from November 29th through 30th, 2021. In the headlines that followed, many analysts reported a 33% percent drop in Chinese finance and suggested a deterioration of the relationship. In contrast, we have ...

China’s Special Mideast Envoy Meets With Sudan Leader

Zhai Jun, China’s Special Envoy to the Middle East, met on Tuesday with the head of Sudan’s army and the leader of the October 25 military coup that plunged the country into crisis, Lieutenant-General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan. Zhai’s trip is part ...

U.S. and Chinese Special Envoy Visits Raise Great Power Questions in Horn of Africa 

Xue Bing, China’s Special Envoy to the Horn of Africa, is winding down his visit to the region with a two-day stop in Uganda, after visiting Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Kenya. His last stop before returning will be South Sudan. His tour coincided with a visit to ...

Russia Shores Up BRICS Support on Ukraine

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (photo, second from left) met with ambassadors of the BRICS countries earlier this week to discuss the crisis in Ukraine. The meeting formed part of Moscow’s campaign to characterize the Western-led sanctions against Russia as unjust. The BRICS ...

Four Different Chinese Ambassadors are Moving On

An unusually large number of Chinese ambassadors announced this week they will be leaving their posts in at least four African countries. It's just a coincidence that so many are happening at once and there is no indication that any of the envoys have been recalled.

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

China-Led Study Proposes Global Energy Network

A globally connected network of solar and wind energy could provide three times the global energy demand by 2050 at a lower cost than independent national power systems. This is the finding of a study led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in collaboration with researchers from the United States and Denmark.

The study focused on how areas with high solar and wind capacity (such as deserts) can be linked to ...

The Increasing Closeness Between China and Somalia Raises Questions for U.S.

Somalia is emerging as a focus for China, following a meeting between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Somali counterpart Abisaid Muse Ali on the sidelines of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation meeting in Pakistan on Tuesday. This closer alignment also has implications for the United States. ...

If You Want to Read Bad Things About China’s Engagement in Africa, You’ll Enjoy the Hoover Institution’s New Handbook

The conservative Hoover Institution at Stanford University spent several months working with thirty civil society organizations from 24 African countries to produce a new handbook that is purportedly intended to help policymakers better understand the key issues related to China's engagement in Africa.

Leading Scholar Argues the Middle East is Pivoting to Regional Cooperation and China

The retreat of the United States is causing a ‘wave of reconciliation' in the Middle East and reorienting these countries towards China. So says Ding Long, a prominent professor at the Middle East Institute at Shanghai University of International Studies.