Related Posts

Can the “Shanghai Model” Solve the Global South Debt Crisis?

During the last major Global South debt crisis in the late 1980s, the United States pioneered an initiative that bundled together all of these countries' debts into a bond that would then be re-packaged and sold to investors. These so-called "Brady ...

How a Small Group of Negotiators in Benin Got China to Play Ball

Chinese loan contracts to African countries are increasingly controversial, raising questions as to how African negotiators can get better deals. One of the world’s foremost experts on Africa-China negotiations, Folashade Soule, recently published a report highlighting how a group of negotiators in Benin bargained with Chinese bodies ...

Ukraine Sanctions and the New Non-Aligned Movement

Kevin Rudd, the former Australian Prime Minister, and a noted China expert, recently argued that Chinese President Xi Jinping’s political fortunes rest on three legs: the continued legitimacy of the CCP’s specific brand of Marxist-Leninism as a shared social system supporting China's economy, the continued ...

Congress Needs to Fund AFRICOM to Combat Growing Chinese and Russian Influence in Africa, Says Commander

The commander for U.S. forces in Africa (AFRICOM), General Stephen Townsend, was back on Capitol Hill to testify before lawmakers about why it's critical they continue to support his operation. Not surprisingly, China emerged as a key theme in his opening statement just as it was back in mid-March ...

Fears that China Will Seize Mombasa Port Unfounded: Upcoming Report

Throughout the last two years, Kenya has been rattled by reports that its debt to China for the troubled Standard Gauge Railway could lead to the seizure of the Port of Mombasa. Since then this story and the other ‘debt trap’ narratives like it have largely been debunked.

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

Plugging into African Agency

After several years of declining funding, the African end of the Belt and Road Initiative seems to be roaring back. The newest Griffith University/Green Development Finance Center data on the Belt and Road Initiative shows that engagement with Africa jumped by 395%, while a few big projects boosted engagement in Nigeria alone more than twelvefold.
These shifts indicate a window of opportunity for African electrification. 60% of Africans still ...

World Bank Raises the Alarm About African Debt Distress (Again)

For the second time in a week, the World Bank has raised the alarm about mounting debt in Africa. A new blog post shows that not only has public debt in Southern and Eastern Africa doubled over the last decade, but the proportion of pricy private debt is also ...

U.S. Moves to Cut Russia Out of the G20 Could Hit African Economies

The U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Russia should be expelled from the Group of 20 (G20) the forum of leading economies that plays a major role in international economic management. She also said U.S. officials may boycott G20 meetings if Russian counterparts show up at upcoming ...

Chinese-Made Electric Buses Launch in Nairobi

The Kenyan mobility startup BasiGo has assembled its first electric buses, using components from the Chinese automaker Build Your Dream (BYD). BasiGo closed a $4.3 million seed funding round in February to assemble and sell electric-powered buses. The company plans to supply more ...

Zimbabwe’s Chinese-Built Parliament Building Completed

Zimbabwe’s new Chinese-built parliament building has been completed and is now awaiting official validation, according to a government spokesperson. Shanghai Construction Group is reportedly adding the final touches to the building’s exterior. The interior fittings have been finished.  Zimbabwe has been ...

African Takedown of Western Stereotypes Goes Viral in China

This video of a woman addressing many of the demeaning stereotypes about Africa and Africans is now going viral on the Chinese social video site Bilibili where it's been re-posted multiple times and received 1+ million views in just the past few days.