A new report led by the U.S.-based research center AidData is drawing global attention this week. It shows that from 2008 to 2021, China spent $240 billion in bailouts and liquidity support to 22 Global South countries.
Even though the report focuses squarely on economics, it also feels like a key piece of a geopolitical puzzle: how China’s Global South relationships work. As I’m writing this, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is ...
Day: March 7, 2023
Ajay Banga in Africa to Rally Support for World Bank Leadership Amid Stand-off With China
Ajay Banga, U.S. President Joe Biden’s nominee to head the World Bank, is on a ‘listening tour’ of Africa to drum up support for his nomination. Banga kicked off his visit to the continent in Ivory Coast and Kenya. As a veteran ...
Senior U.S. Diplomat Criticizes China’s Role in Sri Lankan Debt Restructuring
Yet another U.S. government official has added to the war of words between Washington and Beijing on debt restructuring. Ramin Toloui, Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs at the US Department of State, was asked about China’s ...
Controversial China Square Shopping Mall Re-Opens in Nairobi, Prompting Heated Debate About Chinese Imports
Nearly two weeks after being shuttered due to protests from competing traders, China Square, a Nairobi shop selling inexpensive Chinese imports, is back in business. This follows talks between the Kenyan authorities and the local Chinese chamber of commerce. It seems that ...
Huge Lithium Deposit in Found in Iran
The Iranian authorities say they found the world’s second-largest deposit of lithium in the mountainous province of Hamedan. At an estimated 8.5 million tons, the Hamedan lithium haul would be second only to Chile’s estimated 9.2 million ton deposit. It could ...
History’s Solution to the China-U.S. Debt Standoff
By Kevin P. Gallagher History is repeating itself, but Western leaders are experiencing a selective memory loss that is preventing learning the lessons of that history. If developing countries are to mobilize the necessary resources ...
