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 8, 2023
Ghanaian Students Returning from China Face Unique Challenges…and Opportunities
More African foreign students are studying in China than anywhere else in the world. But do these qualifications get them jobs back home? A new webinar series by the Afro-Sino Centre of International Relations (ASCIR) featuring the China-Trained African Professionals (CTAP) ...
China Unexpectedly Backs Sri Lanka Debt Plan, Clearing the Way for Desperately-needed IMF Rescue Funds
After months of delays and obfuscation, the China Exim Bank suddenly and unexpectedly reversed course this week and agreed to fully support Colombo's debt restructuring plan. President Ranil Wickremesinghe broke the news on Tuesday when he told parliament that China Exim would ...
Qin Gang’s Press Conference Offered Many Global South Takeaways, Between the Punches Thrown at the U.S.
Qin Gang's first press conference as foreign minister on the sidelines of the National People's Congress now underway in Beijing will be remembered for his warning to the United States that if Washington really wants to pick a fight with China, then that's what they'll get.
The China Debt Story in Nigeria Makes Headlines Even When It Shouldn’t
Nigeria marked an important milestone this week when its total public debt topped 49 trillion naira or $108 billion. Curiously, the editors at the popular online news site Legit thought that the country's $4.15 billion debt to China was worth mentioning in the story's headline.
eSwatini PM Visits Taiwan, Reaffirms Diplomatic Support
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen welcomed eSwatini Prime Minister Cleopas Sipho Dlamini during an official visit to Taipei. The prime minister expressed the Kingdom's support for Taiwan's admission to the United Nations and criticized China's efforts to coerce the island through "any ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
Lending Data Offers Clue to China’s Global South Influence
Latin America Was Once an Afterthought for China… Not Anymore
In just the past twenty years, China's trade with countries in Latin America and the Caribbean surged 26-fold to almost half-a-trillion dollars. The region is also now a major destination for Chinese foreign investment and becoming a critically important new front ...