Day: September 6, 2022
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Chinese-Built Cross-Frontier Hydro System Inaugurated in Mali
This weekend saw the inauguration of the Gouina Hydroelectric dam and Malinguina hydropower station in Mali. Funded by the China Exim Bank and built by PowerChina, the facilities form part of a transfrontier hydroelectric system linking Mali, Senegal, and Mauritania. ...
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African Leaders Commemorate Jiang Zemin
African heads of state, ministers, and other high-ranking officials from countries as far afield as Equatorial Guinea and Burundi visited Chinese embassies and missions on Monday to sign condolence books honoring the deceased Chinese President Jiang Zemin. ...
What’s at Play in Xi Jinping’s Upcoming Visit to Saudi Arabia?
Chinese President Xi Jinping will reportedly travel to Saudi Arabia this week for a state meeting and to attend the inaugural China-Arab Summit. This is a particularly important visit as Xi returns to in-person diplomacy because Saudi-U.S. relations are quite frosty amid wrangles over oil prices in ...
How the Global South Can Leverage the BRI and PGII: Competing and Complementary Infrastructure Initiatives
By Oyintarelado Moses and Keren Zhu Last month, the United States and the European Union launched new agreements under the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) on the sidelines of the G20 meeting and the European Commission announced the Global Gateway’s (GG) ...
Why U.S. Diplomacy is Struggling to Compete With China in the Global South
40 countries around the world currently do not have U.S. ambassadors. The corner offices have been empty for months, even years at U.S. embassies in major regional powers like India and Saudia Arabia. Even Italy, a G7 country, ...
China Wades Into Uganda-EU Oil Pipeline Dispute
China has sided with the Ugandan government in condemning the European Parliament’s September call to pause the building of a 1,443-kilometer oil pipeline from Uganda to Tanzania. Zhang Lizhong, China’s ambassador to Uganda, said the EU “should not use the excuse of environmental ...
One of China’s Largest BRI Builders Faces Economic Headwinds at Home
Business is booming for the China Communications Construction Company. It is one of the world's largest construction companies and built many of China's iconic BRI projects, including the controversial Port of Hambantota in Sri Lanka and the Standard Gauge Railway in Kenya. Signed contracts jumped 22% in ...
African Consumers Still Want Huawei Smartphones Even Without Google’s Services
When Huawei was added to the U.S. entities list in August 2020 that blocked the Chinese telecom giant from using American technology on its smartphones, most notably Google's Android operating system, many commentators wrote obituaries for the company's once-dominant handset business.
Don’t Be Misled by All the Headlines About Apple Shifting Its Manufacturing out of China
Throughout much of 2022, Apple has been diversifying its manufacturing operations in Asia beyond China. India and Vietnam, in particular, appear to be the primary beneficiaries. This year alone, in fact, Apple shipped more than a billion dollars worth of iPhones from its suppliers' new ...
China and India’s Bumpy Road to An “Asian Century”
China and India must find ways of tolerating each other’s military rise to ensure the dawn of an “Asian Century.” So argued Zhou Bo, a former official in China’s Ministry of Defense and currently a researcher at the Center for Strategic ...
How Will Liz Truss’s Election as the UK’s New PM Affect China-Global South Relations?
Liz Truss’s rise to Prime Minister-elect of the United Kingdom is likely to raise tensions with China and increase Great Power competition in the Indo-Pacific region. Truss won an internal Conservative Party election following the resignation of former PM Boris Johnson. ...
Transsion Keeps its Edge as Economic Downturn Hits African Consumers
Smartphone shipments to Africa have fallen by 7.9% as economic downturns hit consumer wallets, according to new research by the International Data Corporation, a U.S.-based telecom research group. Despite the fall, the Chinese brand Transsion is holding strong as the continent’s favorite smartphone supplier, ...
U.S. Reportedly “Disillusioned” Over China’s Continued Dominance in Congolese Mining Sector
The Paris-based news service Africa Intelligence published an extensive report on Monday that details how the United States, despite its best efforts, has been unable to diminish China's current dominance of the Congolese mining sector. It reports that Washington is "disillusioned" with President Félix Tshisekedi over the ...
Tech Companies’ Great Migration Out of China
Apple's recently announced plans to speed up the production of its iPhone 14 in India is just one example of foreign manufacturers trying to lessen their dependence on Chinese factories. COVID-19 lockdowns, rising labor costs, and broader concerns about the future trajectory of ...
China’s Newest Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Makes Her Debut
China's Foreign Ministry's spokespeople have the tricky job of being the human faces of a frequently opaque system. So China nerds were a-Twitter this week following the debut of Mao Ning, the Ministry's newest representative. Mao reportedly spent 27 years in the foreign service ...
Chinese Astronauts Reach Out to African Kids
Three Chinese astronauts are holding a live chat with African youth directly from China's orbiting space station today. The live Q&A session, scheduled for 11:00 GMT, is arguably a powerful soft power play on a continent where youth interest in space exploration and other forms of high-tech development is ...
Why the U.S. Shouldn’t Be Surprised About China’s Close Ties With DRC Mining Companies
U.S. officials in Washington and Kinshasa are apparently disappointed, according to a new investigation by the Paris-based Africa Intelligence, that they’ve failed to dislodge China from its dominance of the Congolese mining industry, particularly in strategically important metals like cobalt.
What Did Speculation About Xi’s Fictitious Trip to Saudi Arabia Tell Us About China’s Broader Mideast Strategy
By Leonardo Bruni Earlier this month, the internet was rife with speculation that Xi Jinping would soon break his more than two-year-long hiatus from overseas travel to visit Saudi Arabia. Although the visit did not take place, the media buzz surrounding ...
Kenya’s Latest Economic Data is a Warning to Other Developing Countries With Large Chinese Debts and Trade Deficits
Kenya’s National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) released grim new data this week that highlights the acute problems confronting developing countries with large Chinese trade deficits and debts, both of which increased substantially: TRADE: The country’s trade deficit with China surged ...
Chinese Tech and Mining Companies Team Up to Build First 5G Connected Mine in Southern Africa
The South African subsidiary of Chinese mining giant Zijin will build southern Africa's first-ever 5G connected mine using Huawei technology. South Africa Zijin Platinum contracted with SA telco major MTN to build the Huawei network at the Limpopo mine in northern ...
Split Views in Africa Over China’s Push to Build Parliaments and Other Government Buildings Across the Continent
The imminent handover of the newly-built Zimbabwe parliament building that was almost entirely paid for by the Chinese government has prompted a lively debate online about China's so-called "Palace Diplomacy" in Africa. Opinions about the new hall in Harare were largely split between ...
Why You Should Pay More Attention to China’s Global Development Initiative
When President Xi Jinping announced China's Global Development Initiative (GDI) in September, the response among Western observers was muted. Not so in China, where scholars see the GDI and its sibling, the Global Security Initiative, as the new step in China's global influence. ...
How China Stands to Gain if the U.S.’ Summit of the Americas Becomes the Debacle Everyone Expects
The Summit of the Americas will get underway on Monday in Los Angeles and, remarkably, less than 24 hours before the event begins no one's really sure precisely how many leaders will actually attend. The key holdout right now is Mexican President Andrés Manuel ...
China is Failing Big Time in Its Effort to Get the Jerusalem Post to Unpublish Interview With Taiwan FM Joseph Wu
Chinese embassies around the world, particularly in small and middle-sized countries, are accustomed to using aggressive tactics with local media whenever they feel an outlet has violated one of Beijing's so-called "red lines" (particularly on issues like Taiwan, Tibet, and Xinjiang). Threats of diplomatic retaliation are often ...
Kenyan Parliament to Investigate Debunked SGR Rumors
A Kenyan parliamentary oversight committee wants to review the controversial contract for the Chinese-built Standard Gauge Railway. But rather than addressing the contract’s opacity, it will again focus on the rumor that it puts up Mombasa port as collateral - a rumor that has been debunked repeatedly. ...
Mapping China’s Influence Tools in Africa
How does China build influence in Africa and the wider Global South? A new report from the hawkish U.S. think tank, the National Bureau of Asian Research features prominent researchers’ accounts of different tools, from the secretive United Front Work Department to media, military, and other exchanges. ...
Finding a Common Destiny in the Global South: The Role of China’s Regional Forum Diplomacy
One of China’s signature contributions to the diversification of the emerging world system is the use of regional forum diplomacy to promote the creation of Chinese-instigated regional organizations. Starting with the establishment of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in 2000, the Chinese government has built a network of ...
Huawei in North Africa: Lots of Good PR, Not a Lot of Tech Transfer
Huawei's success in Africa is undeniable. It's built large swathes of the continent's telecom network and is an indispensable player at almost every layer of the African technology stack. But when it comes to transferring skills and technology, the company's record ...
WEEK IN REVIEW: African officials Concerned about the Deteriorating Value of the Chinese Yuan
Finance officials in Africa and other emerging markets are becoming increasingly concerned about the deteriorating value of the Chinese yuan that's weighing down the value of their currencies. The RMB has fallen steeply over the past two weeks in response to the disruption of factory production, trade, and ...
The Solomon Islands’ Deal with China Highlights Western Dilemmas
China’s newly-signed security deal with the Solomon Islands is positioning the archipelago state at the center of global strategic disputes between China and Western powers. This has important implications for Africa and other regions in the Global South. The ...
Debt, Trade, and Infrastructure Expected to Top the Agenda For Wang Yi’s Visit to Kenya
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in Kenya late Wednesday afternoon, the second stop on his three-nation Africa tour. He left Eritrea to fly directly to the port city of Mombasa where he was greeted upon arrival by his Kenyan counterpart, Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary ...
This Will Likely be the Last Time Wang and Kenyatta Meet in Their Current Roles, Ending a 9-Year Professional Relationship
Thursday's meeting between Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the State House in Mombasa will likely be their last in their current roles, bringing to a close a professional relationship that dates back to at least 2013 when they both ascended ...
China’s Share of Kenya’s Total Debt Shrinks as Borrowing Surges
Kenya's Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) is forecasting the country's total public debt will reach $78 billion this June and $86 billion by the same time in 2023. Meantime, China's share of the country's debts, estimated at around $6.5 billion, ...
Wang Yi’s Visit to Eritrea Was Symbolically Important But Produced Few Tangible Outcomes
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (left) wrapped up his brief visit to Eritrea on Wednesday by signing a broadly-worded joint statement with his counterpart Osman Saleh (right). The statement was largely boilerplate, with the usual references to "mutual support" and ...
One of China’s Top Africa Scholars Tries to Explain How Wang Yi Chooses What African Countries to Visit and Also Responds to Debt Trap Accusation
For 32 years, Chinese foreign ministers like Wang Yi have made it a priority to go to Africa for their first overseas trip of the year but little is known about what goes into selecting the countries for these annual visits. ...
Was a Chinese Mine in the DR Congo Looted After the President Paid a Visit? The Mining Minister Says No, But Video Says Otherwise
The DR Congo's Mining Minister Antoinette N'samba is trying to quell accusations that the Chinese-owned Anhui Mining Investment Company (SACIM) was ransacked by looters last week after she and President Félix Tshisekedi visited the facility in the central Kasai Oriental province. Soon after ...
File image of an artisanal miner carrying raw ore at Tilwizembe, a former industrial copper-cobalt mine, outside of Kolwezi, the capital city of Lualaba Province in the south of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. REUTERS/Kenny Katombe/File Photo
By Maxwell Akalaare Adombila and Ange Kasongo The U.S. has made progress in its push to prise Congo's strategic minerals from China's orbit, but conflict, contested licences and compliance demands are still slowing Washington's advance into a region its rival dominates, diplomats and ...
How Will Liz Truss’s Election as the UK’s New PM Affect China-Global South Relations?
Liz Truss’s rise to Prime Minister-elect of the United Kingdom is likely to raise tensions with China and increase Great Power competition in the Indo-Pacific region. Truss won an internal Conservative Party election following the resignation of former PM Boris Johnson. ...
Transsion Keeps its Edge as Economic Downturn Hits African Consumers
Smartphone shipments to Africa have fallen by 7.9% as economic downturns hit consumer wallets, according to new research by the International Data Corporation, a U.S.-based telecom research group. Despite the fall, the Chinese brand Transsion is holding strong as the continent’s favorite smartphone supplier, ...
U.S. Reportedly “Disillusioned” Over China’s Continued Dominance in Congolese Mining Sector
The Paris-based news service Africa Intelligence published an extensive report on Monday that details how the United States, despite its best efforts, has been unable to diminish China's current dominance of the Congolese mining sector. It reports that Washington is "disillusioned" with President Félix Tshisekedi over the ...
Tech Companies’ Great Migration Out of China
Apple's recently announced plans to speed up the production of its iPhone 14 in India is just one example of foreign manufacturers trying to lessen their dependence on Chinese factories. COVID-19 lockdowns, rising labor costs, and broader concerns about the future trajectory of ...
China’s Newest Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Makes Her Debut
China's Foreign Ministry's spokespeople have the tricky job of being the human faces of a frequently opaque system. So China nerds were a-Twitter this week following the debut of Mao Ning, the Ministry's newest representative. Mao reportedly spent 27 years in the foreign service ...
Chinese Astronauts Reach Out to African Kids
Three Chinese astronauts are holding a live chat with African youth directly from China's orbiting space station today. The live Q&A session, scheduled for 11:00 GMT, is arguably a powerful soft power play on a continent where youth interest in space exploration and other forms of high-tech development is ...
Why the U.S. Shouldn’t Be Surprised About China’s Close Ties With DRC Mining Companies
U.S. officials in Washington and Kinshasa are apparently disappointed, according to a new investigation by the Paris-based Africa Intelligence, that they’ve failed to dislodge China from its dominance of the Congolese mining industry, particularly in strategically important metals like cobalt.
What Did Speculation About Xi’s Fictitious Trip to Saudi Arabia Tell Us About China’s Broader Mideast Strategy
By Leonardo Bruni Earlier this month, the internet was rife with speculation that Xi Jinping would soon break his more than two-year-long hiatus from overseas travel to visit Saudi Arabia. Although the visit did not take place, the media buzz surrounding ...