When it was announced in 2023 that the African Union would become a full member of the G20, I darkly joked on a podcast that the AU’s entry into the body could very well mark the moment the G20 lost its status as one of the most important global coordination forums. Mark my words, I said, soon The Economist will be like “Uhhh, the G20 is OVER – it’s the ...
Day: May 9, 2022
Related Posts
Chinese-Built Nairobi Expressway to Open to Cars Next Week, But First It Was Runners’ Turn to Use the New Road
Thousands of Kenyans filled the new Chinese-financed and built Nairobi Expressway on Sunday when they ran/walked along the new road as part of the Nairobi City Marathon. President Uhuru Kenyatta was on hand to start the race and told everyone that ...
Huawei Quietly Becomes a Dominant Player in Africa’s Burgeoning Mobile Money Sector
Quietly and largely out-of-sight, Chinese telecom giant Huawei is becoming one of the most important actors in Africa's mobile payment business. Many people don't realize that the popular Kenyan mobile payment service M-Pesa runs on Huawei Mobile that each year processes tens of billions of dollars in transactions ...
Chinese Vaccines Shipments Around the World Plunge 97% Last Month and We Now Know Why
For much of last year, China was seemingly unstoppable in its drive to ship vaccines to developing countries around the world. Hundreds of millions of doses went to Africa, Latin America, and Asia, and then suddenly, beginning last fall, shipments came to a grinding halt. ...
Lockdown “Shout-Out” Videos Featuring Africans Raise Controversy
The ongoing COVID-19 lockdowns in cities like Shanghai are sparking a cottage industry of commissioned viral videos commenting on the crisis. Recently, videos of shirtless African men, dubbed Wolf Warriors, dancing or posing with messages in Mandarin have become trendy. While many Chinese consumers see ...
Flurry of Coverage on China’s Rise in the Global South Reveals Indian Anxieties
Few countries are as anxious about China’s rise than India. However, a recent flurry of coverage shows that in contrast to the United States, India’s focus falls squarely on the Global South. These articles also show how central the Indian press and think tank community have been ...
Ethiopia’s Ambassador to China Rebuffs Debt Trap Narratives
Ethiopia’s ambassador to China, Teshome Toga Chanaka pushed back against the idea that loans from China are plunging African countries into debt traps. He recently sat down for an interview with Wang Huiyao, the head of the Center for China and Globalization, a prominent foreign policy think ...