Day: October 24, 2022
Related Posts
What Developing Countries Should Expect From Xi’s New Foreign Policy Team
China's new foreign policy leadership is taking shape following Sunday's announcement that two senior officials had been promoted to key roles on the last day of the 20th Party Congress in Beijing. Foreign Minister Wang Yi will join ...
Related Posts
Annoyed With the U.S., Saudi Arabia Pivots to Asia
The steadily deteriorating ties between the United States and Saudi Arabia are coinciding with what appears to be a concerted shift by the Kingdom to foster closer ties with Asia's largest powers, namely China, India, and South Korea. On Friday, Saudi ...
South Korea’s Growing Reliance on Saudi Oil Could Make It Vulnerable in the Event of a Taiwan Conflict
South Korea imported 31 million barrels of Saudi Arabian oil last month, up 30% compared to the same time last year, according to new data from the Korea Customs Service. Today, South Korea is Asia's ...
How the U.S. Should Respond to China’s Growing Military Presence in the Middle East and North Africa
The latest U.S. National Security Strategy released this month singled out China as “America’s most consequential geopolitical challenge," and nowhere is that contest more on display than in the Middle East. After decades of fighting wars in the region and cozying up ...
Poll: More People Still Prefer U.S. Over China as Global Superpower, But to What Extent Depends on Where You Live
The divide between how people in wealthy advanced countries perceive China and those in poorer, less developed countries appears to be widening, according to the findings of a new year-long international poll conducted by the UK-based YouGov-Cambridge Globalism Project. ...
No, Jackie Chan Didn’t Wear a T-Shirt Promoting Uganda’s First Son to Be “The Next President”
The fact-checking team at Pesa Check debunked a photo that's been circulating on Twitter and Facebook showing Hong Kong superstar Jackie Chan purportedly wearing a t-shirt with a photo of the first son of Uganda, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, with the caption "The Next President."
How China’s Record Heat Wave Could Have a Catastrophic Impact on Developing Countries
The consequences of the devastating heat wave in China, the worst in recorded history, could be catastrophic for the world's poorest countries that are already grappling with surging inflation, food and fuel shortages. 260 ...
Rhino Poaching Rates in Africa and Asia Have Plunged by Half, Says New Report
Poaching rates for both African and Asian rhinos have been steadily falling for the past three years and are now at their lowest rates in almost a decade, according to the findings of a new report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and the wildlife conservation ...
China’s Ambassador to Bangladesh Wants Local Chinese Businesses to Button Everything Up Ahead of 20th Party Congress
The Chinese embassy in Bangladesh organized an online gathering this week for representatives of the local Chinese business community on how to tighten security in their enterprises ahead of the upcoming 20th Party Congress in November. Basically, the embassy wants to ...
Where Does China Source Its Natural Gas
China is the world's fastest-growing market for natural gas and imported more last year than any other country -- accounting for 60% of global demand. The bulk of China's imports in 2021 came from Australia (40%), with Malaysia, Qatar and the ...
China’s Dominance of the Congolese Cobalt Sector May Not Actually Matter Much in the Near Future
The new U.S. climate law, officially known as the Inflation Reduction Act, has a number of provisions aimed at breaking China's hold on certain strategic resources like cobalt, widely seen as vital to the future of electric mobility. Cobalt is a ...
How is the New U.S. Strategy for Africa Seen in China?
Chinese scholars and policy analysts have been poring over the recently released U.S. Strategy for Sub-Saharan Africa to gauge its implications for China and its engagement on the continent. In contrast to the Trump administration's Prosper Africa initiative that openly framed ...
WEEK IN REVIEW: The United States To Re-launch B3W at Next Week’s G7 Conference
The United States will re-launch the Build Back Better World (B3W) initiative at next week's G7 conference with a new program that aims to provide an alternative to Chinese infrastructure financing in the Global South. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan did not provide many details on the new ...
Western Governments Expected to Fret Anew When Wang Yi Travels to the Solomon Islands to Sign Security Pact
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is scheduled to embark on a three-nation tour of the South Pacific this week that will include a stop in the Solomon Islands where he will sign a controversial new security agreement. Prime Minister ...
Lots of Fanfare But Little Real Enthusiasm For New U.S.-Led Economic Pact in Asia
U.S. President Joe Biden formally lifted the veil on the new Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) at a ceremony on Monday in Tokyo alongside fellow Quad leaders Fumio Kishida from Japan, India's Narendra Modi, and newly-elected Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. 13 ...
“Quad” Countries Launch High-Tech Plan to Track Chinese Illegal Fishing
The U.S., Japan, Australia and India, members of the "Quad," unveiled a new initiative on Tuesday that aims to monitor Chinese illegal fishing in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The new system will use satellite technology to provide tracking data on Chinese fishing ...
Zimbabwe’s President and Chinese Business Community Warn of Western Undermining
The Zimbabwean president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, and Chinese companies active in the country are both issuing dark warnings that Western governments are paying NGOs to undermine them. This comes against the background of a months-long standoff between Chinese mining and other companies, and a coalition of NGOs alleging labor and environmental abuses.
Chinese Contractors Win Guinea Stadium Bid
The contractors, China Construction Fifth Engineering Division Corp. and China Construction International, won a $298 million contract to build a new soccer stadium in Guinea. While providing stadiums acted as a diplomatic tool for China in the Global South, this seems like a commercial transaction rather than ‘stadium diplomacy.’
Massive Statue by Chinese Artist Rises Over the Benin City of Cotonou
The 30-meter-high Statue of the Amazon ("Statue de l'Amazone") is a tribute to the all-female military regiment in the 18th century Kingdom of Dahomey that is now present-day Benin. Chinese artist Li Xiangqun won the commission to build the statue following an extensive ...
What Do the African Development Bank Annual Meetings Mean for Chinese Energy Finance in Africa?
By Oyintarelado (Tarela) Moses This week, the African Development Bank (AfDB) convenes its annual meetings in Accra, Ghana under the theme of Achieving Climate Resilience and a Just Energy Transition for Africa. As countries throughout the region experience the effects ...
Q&A: The African Union Ambassador to China Reflects on the Outcomes of FOCAC and ‘What’s Next’
The 8th Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) was held in Dakar, Senegal from November 29th through 30th, 2021. In the headlines that followed, many analysts reported a 33% percent drop in Chinese finance and suggested a deterioration of the relationship. In contrast, we have ...
China’s Special Mideast Envoy Meets With Sudan Leader
Zhai Jun, China’s Special Envoy to the Middle East, met on Tuesday with the head of Sudan’s army and the leader of the October 25 military coup that plunged the country into crisis, Lieutenant-General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan. Zhai’s trip is part ...
U.S. and Chinese Special Envoy Visits Raise Great Power Questions in Horn of Africa
Xue Bing, China’s Special Envoy to the Horn of Africa, is winding down his visit to the region with a two-day stop in Uganda, after visiting Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Kenya. His last stop before returning will be South Sudan. His tour coincided with a visit to ...
Russia Shores Up BRICS Support on Ukraine
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (photo, second from left) met with ambassadors of the BRICS countries earlier this week to discuss the crisis in Ukraine. The meeting formed part of Moscow’s campaign to characterize the Western-led sanctions against Russia as unjust. The BRICS ...
Four Different Chinese Ambassadors are Moving On
An unusually large number of Chinese ambassadors announced this week they will be leaving their posts in at least four African countries. It's just a coincidence that so many are happening at once and there is no indication that any of the envoys have been recalled.
The Increasing Closeness Between China and Somalia Raises Questions for U.S.
Somalia is emerging as a focus for China, following a meeting between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Somali counterpart Abisaid Muse Ali on the sidelines of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation meeting in Pakistan on Tuesday. This closer alignment also has implications for the United States. ...
If You Want to Read Bad Things About China’s Engagement in Africa, You’ll Enjoy the Hoover Institution’s New Handbook
The conservative Hoover Institution at Stanford University spent several months working with thirty civil society organizations from 24 African countries to produce a new handbook that is purportedly intended to help policymakers better understand the key issues related to China's engagement in Africa.
Leading Scholar Argues the Middle East is Pivoting to Regional Cooperation and China
The retreat of the United States is causing a ‘wave of reconciliation' in the Middle East and reorienting these countries towards China. So says Ding Long, a prominent professor at the Middle East Institute at Shanghai University of International Studies.
China, Africa and the War in Ukraine
With the Russian military now moving on Ukraine, the consequences of Europe's latest war are being felt around the world. Asian markets fell sharply today while oil prices shot up, crossing the $100 mark for the first time in seven years. ...
New Documentary Reveals Widespread Abuse of Local Workers by Chinese Construction Company in Lesotho
An investigation by the independent, non-partisan MNN Centre for Investigative Journalism in Lesotho uncovered widespread abuse by Chinese managers at the multinational Chinese construction company CNQC (中国青建) working in the small southern African country. Workers said a lack of any oversight ...
Deconstructing Chinese Media Criticism of Western Engagement in Africa
Soon after the conclusion of the Europe-Africa Summit in Brussels last week, Chinese media and scholars began to weigh in with their analysis of the gathering which, not surprisingly, was decidedly negative. All week, there've been a number ...
Africa’s Newest Chinese-financed Political Training Academy Opens in Tanzania
Chinese ambassador to Tanzania Chen Mingjian joined President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Wednesday to open a new political training academy located outside of Dar es Salaam. But unlike similar Chinese-financed academies in South Africa and Ethiopia that are primarily country-specific, ...
Head of U.S. Forces in Africa Repeats Unsubstantiated Claim that China Is Planning an Atlantic Military Base
The commander for U.S. forces in Africa (AFRICOM), General Stephen J. Townsend reiterated his assertion that China is looking to build a second military base in Africa, this time somewhere along the Atlantic coast. In a wide-ranging ...
How the Chinese Debt Trap Narrative Spreads in Washington
A webinar convened on Friday by the Middle East Policy Council in Washington, D.C. highlights how the Chinese debt trap narrative has become an accepted truth among U.S. stakeholders, despite a lack of evidence that Beijing intentionally loads up developing countries with unsustainable levels of ...
Construction of an Important Sino-Nigerian Infrastructure Experiment is Almost Finished, Says Transportation Minister
Nigeria's Transportation Minister (and likely presidential candidate) Rotimi Amaechi conducted a site visit on Saturday of the massive Lekki Deep Seaport project in Lagos where he said construction is now 80% finished. He added that he's expecting Chinese contractors to finish ...
Uganda Hosts Trade and Investment Forum in Beijing
The Ugandan embassy in Beijing and the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs convened a hybrid on and offline conference on Friday to discuss how to boost Chinese trade and investment in the East African country. High on the agenda were the ...
Heated Confrontation Between Chinese Businesses and Civil Society Groups Intensifies in Zimbabwe
A simmering conflict between a coalition of 27 civil society groups in Zimbabwe and Chinese enterprises, mostly mining companies, boiled over late last week when organizations representing both sides published scathing statements about each other. The primary complaint by the civil ...
It’s Becoming Increasingly Difficult For African News Consumers to Figure Out What’s Legitimate News About China and What’s Propaganda
A column published on one of Ghana's largest news portals, Ghanaweb, on Sunday highlights the difficulties confronting readers in determining what is legitimate editorial content and what is state-produced propaganda. Last week, the official Ghana News Agency published ...
A Taliban security personnel operating an anti-aircraft gun keeps watch for Pakistani airstrikes near the Torkham border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan in the Nangarhar province on February 27, 2026 following overnight cross-border fighting between the two countries. Photo by AIMAL ZAHIR / AFP
Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif declared "open war" against Afghanistan on Friday amid a surge of fighting between the two South Asian neighbors. Pakistan said it's retaliating against Afghanistan for a series of attacks, including a suicide bombing in early February that killed at least 36 people ...
What Developing Countries Should Expect From Xi’s New Foreign Policy Team
China's new foreign policy leadership is taking shape following Sunday's announcement that two senior officials had been promoted to key roles on the last day of the 20th Party Congress in Beijing. Foreign Minister Wang Yi will join ...
Annoyed With the U.S., Saudi Arabia Pivots to Asia
The steadily deteriorating ties between the United States and Saudi Arabia are coinciding with what appears to be a concerted shift by the Kingdom to foster closer ties with Asia's largest powers, namely China, India, and South Korea. On Friday, Saudi ...
South Korea’s Growing Reliance on Saudi Oil Could Make It Vulnerable in the Event of a Taiwan Conflict
South Korea imported 31 million barrels of Saudi Arabian oil last month, up 30% compared to the same time last year, according to new data from the Korea Customs Service. Today, South Korea is Asia's ...
How the U.S. Should Respond to China’s Growing Military Presence in the Middle East and North Africa
The latest U.S. National Security Strategy released this month singled out China as “America’s most consequential geopolitical challenge," and nowhere is that contest more on display than in the Middle East. After decades of fighting wars in the region and cozying up ...
Poll: More People Still Prefer U.S. Over China as Global Superpower, But to What Extent Depends on Where You Live
The divide between how people in wealthy advanced countries perceive China and those in poorer, less developed countries appears to be widening, according to the findings of a new year-long international poll conducted by the UK-based YouGov-Cambridge Globalism Project. ...
No, Jackie Chan Didn’t Wear a T-Shirt Promoting Uganda’s First Son to Be “The Next President”
The fact-checking team at Pesa Check debunked a photo that's been circulating on Twitter and Facebook showing Hong Kong superstar Jackie Chan purportedly wearing a t-shirt with a photo of the first son of Uganda, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, with the caption "The Next President."