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DRC Prime Minister to Intervene in Cobalt Dispute

Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde, the Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo, will host new negotiations between the state mining company Gecamines and the giant Chinese cobalt miner China Molybdenum (CMOC).  The intervention is aimed at breaking the deadlock between the two, due ...

Vietnam Wins as Apple Moves More Production Out of China 

Apple is in talks to make Apple Watches and MacBooks in Vietnam for the first time, marking a further win for the Southeast Asian country as the U.S. tech giant looks to diversify production away from China. Earlier this year Apple ...

Is China Planning Bases in Pakistan and Afghanistan?

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin shot down allegations in the Indian media that China is planning military bases in Pakistan and Afghanistan.  The issue was raised at a Ministry briefing by a reporter for Agence France Presse, and dismissed summarily: 

China and Russia Join Military Skills Contest in Algeria

Soldiers from China and Russia joined counterparts from thirteen other countries in a military skills competition that kicked off this week in Algeria. Participants will compete in activities like parachute jumping, shooting and driving tanks. Other participants include India, Vietnam, Mali, Congo, and Venezuela.

Hunan’s Growing Clout in African Agricultural Trade Now Extends to Honey

The Chinese province of Hunan this week ran online courses in beekeeping and honey processing for African farmers. Hunan is quickly emerging as the world’s most innovative hub for African agricultural trade, with a cocoa trading center, a currency clearing hub and numerous trade deals with different ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

Revealing Reactions to China’s Festival of Optics

In terms of geopolitical optics, this week was nothing short of a banquet. It served up at least two sets of images that seem to crystallize our historical moment and that will live on in the Wikipedia of history as shorthand for where the world was in 2025.
One is the waves of uncannily synchronized soldiers and a bewildering array of high-tech weaponry gliding down Beijing’s Chang’an Avenue. The ...

Will the DRC Prime Minister Break the Deadlock with China Moly? Mining Expert Géraud Neema Weighs In

1. What are the politics behind these talks that we’re not seeing? Geraud Neema: There is a stalemate between the parties namely CMOC on one side and Gecamines executive, TFM temporary administrator, and the revision committee on the other. Through political ...