China’s Vice President Han Zheng addressed the UN General Assembly on Thursday. Along with retreads of established Chinese positions on Taiwan, Ukraine, and the Israel/Palestine conflict, his comments also provided interesting clues about China’s messaging to the Global South.
First, he called on the international community to “follow the direction of a multipolar world” with the UN at its center. I wonder how opinion within Beijing’s inner circles breaks down around the bipolarity/multipolarity issue, considering ...
Day: January 16, 2023
Chinese Trade was Bigger Than Ever Last Year, But 2023 has Everyone Worried
For the first time ever, China broke the symbolically important 40 trillion yuan ($6.27 trillion) record for global trade in a single year, according to new full-year 2022 trade data released by Chinese customs authorities. Overall, last year's 7.7% annual increase ...
Decoding China’s Record-Breaking 2022 Trade With Africa
China's trade with countries in Africa broke a new record in 2022 at $282 billion, up 11% from last year's $254 billion in two-way trade. The data reaffirms China's position as the continent's largest bilateral trading partner and shows it's solidly ...
Chinese FM Qin Gang Wraps Up Africa Tour in Egypt
Qin Gang concluded his first tour of Africa as Foreign Minister on Sunday in Cairo, where he met separately with his counterpart Sameh Shoukry, President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit. Since Friday, Qin traveled to Benin, Gabon and Angola. ...
Angola is Now a New Front in the U.S.-China Technology Duel
Technology, not oil, emerged as a key focus of Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang's brief visit to Angola on Friday. Qin visited Huawei's new $80 million technology park in the capital Luanda and later oversaw a signing ceremony with Finance Minister Vera ...
China’s Building Diplomacy in Africa Shows No Signs of Slowing in 2023
Add Gabon's Senate, known as Omar Bongo Ondimba Palace, to the long and growing list of African government buildings that will either be renovated or newly built using Chinese money and contractors. Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang alongside his Gabonese ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
Unpacking Han Zheng’s Messaging to the Global South at the UN General Assembly
Pepe Zhang on What to Expect This Year in China-Latin America Relations
China's two-way trade with countries in the Americas increased 8% last year to $486 billion, nearly twice the volume of what China does in Africa. South America is now a vital source of food, energy, and strategic minerals for China, ...
Chinese Scholars Reflect on Qin Gang’s First Africa Tour
There wasn't much media coverage or online discussion in China about Qin Gang's week-long visit to Africa that ended Sunday in Cairo, especially compared to previous years when the visit was widely touted on Party-controlled media outlets. Interest was probably diminished ...
India and China Both Send High-Level Delegations to Sri Lanka This Week to Discuss Debt Crisis
Two of Sri Lanka's largest bilateral creditors, China and India, are finally taking steps to engage Colombo after months of inaction in resolving the South Asian country's worsening debt crisis. The Chinese led the charge. Chen Zhou, vice minister of the ...
Sri Lanka Caught in the Middle of China and India’s Geopolitical Rivalry
BBC Economics Editor Ben Chu returned to Colombo recently to report on Sri Lanka's fraught position in the middle of India and China's increasingly bitter feud and what the implications are for the island's badly-needed debt restructuring process.