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William Ruto Wins Kenya’s Presidential Election. What Does That Mean For Kenya’s Ties With China?

William Ruto was declared president-elect on Monday by the head of Kenya's independent election commission after narrowly edging out his main rival Raila Odinga. But as was expected in such a close race, controversy erupted when four electoral commissioners hinted there were problems with the vote, prompting Odinga's supporters to ...

Saudi Arabia is Preparing For President Xi’s Arrival This Week, According to Reports

There are new indications that Chinese President Xi Jinping will, in fact, be heading to Saudi Arabia this week for his first overseas visit in nearly three years since the beginning of the pandemic. Although there is still no official confirmation of the ...

Chinese Scholar Makes the Case That It’s Bond Debt, Not Bilateral Loans That Trap Developing Countries

A new research paper by prominent Tsinghua University development finance scholar Tang Xiaoyang provides the most detailed argument to date in defense of China's bilateral lending to Global South countries and how mostly Western-initiated bonds are the real culprit in burdening poor states with unmanageable debts.

New Economist Intelligence Unit Report Provides Fresh Reminder of China’s Highly Unequal Trade With Africa

The Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) latest report on China-Africa relations forecasts how it sees the relationship between these two regions evolving over the next ten years.  Broadly speaking, the EIU predicts China will devote more attention to Africa, both for economic reasons and ...

Shining a Light on China’s Support for Power Plants in Belt and Road Initiative Countries in Africa and Asia

By Oyintarelado (Tarela) Moses In September 2021, Chinese leader Xi Jinping announced that China would not build new coal plants overseas. At the same time, many countries in Africa and Asia continue to seek finance for electricity-generating infrastructure to meet ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

The G20 Summit and the Half-Life of a Joke

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 ...

Where in the World is Xi Jinping Going?

The British newspaper The Guardian sparked excitement late last week with an exclusive report that Chinese President Xi Jinping would break his nearly 900-day absence from international travel with a visit to Saudi Arabia. Middle East correspondent Martin Chulov also divulged that ...