Félix Tshisekedi, the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, left for a trip to Beijing last week amid sky-high expectations of both new deals and the significant reworking of current agreements widely seen in his country as favoring Chinese actors. None of this happened.
Instead, he returned with a fistful of non-binding MoUs to widespread dissatisfaction back home. Since then, DRC officials have worked overtime to try and spin the trip as a longer-term ...
Day: April 21, 2022
How Do Western and Chinese Development Models Differ? Noted Chinese Economist Weighs In
While China's financing of Global South infrastructure faces ongoing criticism from the World Bank (see above,) these traditional development institutions are partly to blame for many Global South countries' inability to boost development. This is the viewpoint of Justin Yifu Lin, ...
Chinese Mining Boss Gets 20 Years for Whipping Rwandan Worker
A Rwandan court sentenced a Chinese businessman to twenty years in prison for beating two employees. A video clip showing Sun Shujun using a rope to beat a man tied to a wooden post as other workers looked on went viral last year, sparking widespread outrage.
Rwandan Court’s Prison Sentence for Chinese Mining Boss Sparks Passionate Response Online
The Karongi Intermediate Court in Rwanda's decision to hand down a hefty prison sentence on Tuesday to Chinese mining boss Sun Shujun for brutally beating his employees sparked an outpouring of emotion online. "The Chinese are there mining the minerals and stealing ...
With Access to South Africa’s Main Port Still Hampered, The Rush Is on To Build Alternate Trade Routes for DRC Resources
With road and rail access to South Africa's main port in Durban still blocked by the damage from the past week of record floods, there's a new urgency to develop alternate trade routes for the vast quantities of natural resources that flow from the mining belts in the southern DRC ...
China’s Ambassador to Liberia Moves to Stamp Out Any Comparisons Between the Situations in Ukraine and Taiwan
China’s ambassador to Liberia, Ren Yishang published a long op-ed in Wednesday's edition of the New Dawn Liberia newspaper complaining about a recent article by the former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe comparing the current crisis in Ukraine with the situation regarding Taiwan. ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
DRC Government Tries to Reframe Underwhelming Beijing Visit
Senior U.S. Diplomat Explains What Makes the U.S. So Uneasy About China’s Presence in Africa
While there have been countless seminars on China-Africa relations in Washington featuring scholars, think tank analysts, and journalists, it's quite rare that these discussions feature high-ranking State Department officials. The higher up in the ranks, the more they prefer to keep discussions out of the public eye. ...
Briefing Gives Rare Public Glimpse into China’s Positioning on Ethiopian War
Ethiopia’s ambassador to China, Teshome Toga, briefed the Chinese think tank the Center for China and Globalization (CCG) on the ongoing crisis in Ethiopia on Wednesday. While this kind of briefing isn’t news per se, it does provide a rare glimpse into how Chinese positions on thorny issues like ...
World Bank Chief Calls for New Debt Resolution Tools, Blames China for Debt Crises
David Malpass, the president of the World Bank, again singled out China in calling for new debt restructuring mechanisms to help the developing world. Malpass and the International Monetary Fund’s managing director Kristalina Georgieva told reporters that rising interest rates are exacerbating a debt crisis among developing countries already ...