Day: May 17, 2023
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China’s Promises of a Green Future Raises More Questions Than Answers
For the climate-minded, this week’s report from the Boston Global Development Policy Center about trends in Chinese energy finance made for sobering reading. Of the $251 billion China Development Bank and China Exim Bank provided for energy projects between 2000 and 2022, ...
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The Belt and Road Initiative Is Changing But It’s Not Going Away
Up until a few weeks ago, columnists in major Western publications were packing away the Belt and Road Initiative. Foreign Policy called it ‘China’s Belt and Road to Nowhere’ in February. In April, the Council on Foreign Relations proclaimed ‘The Rise and Fall of the ...
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meets China’s Premier
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed held talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing on Monday. The PM is on an official visit to China and will attend the Belt and Road Forum. In the Xinhua
The Belt and Road Forum Is All About Deals, Deals, Deals
One of the reasons so many leaders from around the world are in Beijing is because the Belt and Road Forum is expected to be an important space for new deals. Some leaders are traveling with large corporate entourages in the hope of finalizing trade and investment ...
Kenyan President’s Economic Diplomacy Agenda Will be Tested in Beijing This Week
Among the dozens of leaders attending this week's Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, few are under as much pressure to deliver tangible results from the event as Kenyan President William Ruto. Back home, the Kenyan economy is in serious trouble
Indonesia Targets Rail, Renewable Cooperation At Forum
Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo (nicknamed ‘Jokowi’) is one of the rare leaders at this year’s Belt and Road Forum who has already met Chinese President Xi Jinping this year. He’ll have a repeat meeting this week, which will likely focus on strengthening economic ties between the countries. ...
South Asian Leaders Gather in Kunming for China-South Asia Expo
Leaders from South Asian countries gathered in the southwest Chinese city of Kunming for the seventh China-South Asia Expo. It was an occasion for Chinese leaders to emphasize both trade and political ties. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told the guests that ...
Wang Yi Pushes Southeast Asian Diplomacy on the Sidelines of South Asia Expo
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi is busy this week, with the China-South Asia Expo in Kunming providing a chance to expand China’s diplomatic outreach to Southeast Asian countries. As tensions simmer between China and other regional powers, Wang pursued meetings on the sidelines of the Expo and ...
Graph of the Day: Comparing U.S. and China’s Investment Clout in Southeast Asia
A recent article in Nikkei Asia provided a fascinating deep dive comparing China and the United States' influence in key Southeast Asian economies. It shows that while the U.S. has leaned into expanding its diplomatic engagement, Chinese economic ties in the region present a significant counterweight.
China and Kenya to Collaborate on Film-Making
The Chinese and Kenyan governments signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop their film industries and to boost exchange programs between the two countries. The agreement with China Film Administration came as Kenya hosted a large new film festival commemorating the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties.
South African Dance Craze Travels to China
South African amapiano (a style of street dance featuring languid-but-intricate moves over tense minimalist beats) has blown up internationally in no small part due to SA dancers’ strong showing on TikTok. Now Kutlwano Molefe (aka Kay the People’s Dancer), a South African ...
South China Sea’s Fish Stocks Are Running Low. China’s Fishing Ban Isn’t Helping
The South China Sea punches well above its size in terms of marine biodiversity. The semi-enclosed sea, which spans over three million kilometers, is home to 8,600 different types of marine plants and animals including tuna and mackerel, grouper, herring, and crab, and seven out ...
The China-Mediterranean Observer: Iranian, Saudi Commentators Reflect on What’s Next for China’s Role in the Region
In April, news outlets throughout the wider Mediterranean region continued to discuss the “Beijing Agreement”, the recent China-brokered deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran to reestablish official diplomatic relations. Interest in the agreement remained high as the Saudi and Iranian foreign ministers reconvened in Beijing ...
Iraqi Air Force Denies Rumors It Agreed to Buy Chinese JF-17 Fighter Jets From Pakistan
Reports began circulating late last week that Iraq had finalized a deal to purchase 12 JF-17 Thunder fighter jets from Pakistan for $664 million. The news lit up Pakistani Twitter as hundreds of posts emerged celebrating the deal that would make ...
Disputes Over Borders and Business Dominate China-India Talks
China's top diplomat Wang Yi called on his Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar to re-orient their two countries' steadily deteriorating ties away from "specific issues" that Wang feels shouldn't "define the overall relationship." Wang made the request on Friday during talks with ...
What Happened to Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang?
It's been three weeks since Qin Gang was last seen in public, sparking a wave of rumors (many emanating from Taiwan) that the Chinese Foreign Minister has been benched for allegedly having an affair with Phoenix News TV journalist Fu Xiaotian. Initially, ...
Worrying Signs for Global South Countries in China’s H1 2023 Trade Results
Chinese diplomats around the world tried to put a positive spin on the country's latest trade figures which indicate a marked drop in the first half of the year compared to the same period last year. The General Administration of Customs released ...
PLA Navy Tour of Africa Stops in the Republic of Congo
A weeks-long tour of Africa by a trio of Chinese warships continued with a stop in the Republic of Congo on Friday, where they were greeted by Defense Minister Richard Mondjo. The PLA Navy ships previously made stops in Nigeria, Ghana ...
Central Asian Leaders Arrive in Northwestern China For First-Ever Summit With Xi Jinping
Final preparations are underway in the northwestern Chinese city of Xi'an for a high-profile two-day Central Asian summit that gets underway on Thursday hosted by President Xi Jinping and his counterparts from Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan. The gathering, known as the ...
Domestic U.S. Politics Undermine Washington’s Ability to Challenge China’s Influence in Asia-Pacific
U.S. President Joe Biden will leave for Japan on Wednesday to attend a G7 leaders summit in Hiroshima, but rather than continue on to Australia and what would have been a landmark visit to Papua New Guinea (PNG), he'll head straight back to Washington instead.
China’s Ambassador to Angola Promises President Continued Support for Infrastructure Development
Angolan President João Lourenço met with China's ambassador to Luanda, Gao Tong, on Monday for an update on the progress of several high-profile infrastructure projects that China is developing. Gao reassured the president that the new Luanda international airport, the Caculo-Cabaça hydroelectric facility, and ...
China’s Mixed Success With Media Influence in Africa
Although now more than a decade old, China's large media presence in Africa remains poorly understood on the continent and by most foreign observers. While investment to expand TV broadcaster CGTN, China Daily and China Radio International's footprint on the continent ...
Blinken Tries to Bolster Ties With Vietnam Amid Rising U.S. Tensions With China
Vietnam was again at the center of great power politics this weekend during a brief visit by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, his first trip to the country as Washington's top diplomat. Blinken's one overriding priority on this trip was ...
Chinese Embassy in Vietnam Blasts Blinken For “Sowing Discord” in Southeast Asia
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not comment over the weekend about U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to Vietnam but will likely do so on Monday at the regular press briefing in Beijing. The ministry's response will probably sound ...
China’s Online Supporters Incorrectly Thought They Saw the Vietnamese Dissing the Blinken by Not Displaying a U.S. Flag
China's online supporters, including a number of diplomats and well-known trolls, seemed to think the Vietnamese government was trying to send visiting U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken a message when they only featured a Vietnamese flag in the room during a meeting with Prime Minister Phạm Minh ...
China’s Central Bank Chief Signals Beijing Will Cooperate With Other International Creditors on Debt Relief
The head of China's central bank, Yi Gang, provided the clearest indication to date Beijing is willing to retreat from its demand that multilateral development banks (MDBs) also take write-downs on their loans to the world's poorest countries. Yi told participants at ...
New Billion-dollar Korean-Chinese EV Battery Plant Deal Likely to Anger the U.S.
South Korea's LG Chem signed a deal with Chinese mining and metal refining giant Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt to build a massive $920 million electric vehicle battery factory in southwest Korea. While the proposed factory makes a lot of sense for companies ...
How Significant Is China’s Role in the Saudi-Iran Rapprochement?
By Chris Alden, Felix Brender and Lukas Fiala Saudi Arabia’s and Iran’s decision to restore diplomatic relations has taken many observers by surprise. Even more so, the fact that Beijing was presented as the mediator bringing to an end the seven-year hiatus ...
Africa’s Role in China’s Evolving Geopolitical Priorities
It's been a momentous past two weeks for Chinese foreign policy with major a breakthrough in the Sri Lanka debt impasse and the landmark announcement that Beijing helped to broker the restoration of ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Meantime, China ...
WEEK IN REVIEW: Fresh off Sealing Iran-Saudi Deal, Chinese President Xi Jinping Next Heads to Russia
Fresh off his success in brokering a restoration of diplomatic ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia, Chinese President Xi Jinping will next head to Russia. Xi reportedly plans to visit Moscow next week where he is widely expected to discuss Beijing's Ukraine peace proposal with his counterpart Vladimir ...
China’s Debt Fight Has High Stakes
We’ve covered Chinese lending to the Global South through the boom days of the BRI and the current debt busts cratering Zambia, Sri Lanka and other economies. One of the things we’ve learned is that China plays a weird dual role in the global development finance landscape. ...
What the New Port of Lekki in Nigeria Tells Us About the Future of Chinese Infrastructure Finance in Africa
China is no longer in the game of providing African countries with enormous loans to finance large-scale infrastructure projects. In fact, BRI financing last year for projects in Africa plunged more than 50% to just $7.5 billion.
WEEK IN REVIEW: Russian Military Frigate Docked in Cape Town, on the Way to Controversial Joint Military Exercises With China and South Africa
A Russian military frigate has docked in South Africa's Cape Town harbor, on the way to controversial joint military exercises with China and South Africa. Operation Mosi will take place off the coast of Durban from February 17 to 27. (FRANCE24) Iranian President Ebrahim ...
Uganda Cancels Chinese Rail Deal After 8-Year Financing Lag
The government of Uganda announced that it canceled a 2015 contract with China Harbor Engineering Co. (CHEC) to build a rail line linking the capital of Kampala and the Kenyan border. This follows an eight-year lag as the contractor failed to get Chinese policy bank funding for the ...
South African Rail Company Puts Out Tender to Fix Faulty Chinese-Made Trains
South Africa’s state railway company Transnet has put out a tender for any company that can fix non-operational Chinese-made locomotives acquired under a corrupt deal. The original manufacturer of the locomotives, China Railway Rolling Stock Corp (CRRC), refused to supply the needed ...
U.S. Treasury Secretary’s Africa Tour Takes on China, Debt
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is heading to Africa for a 10-day trip to Senegal, South Africa and Zambia. The continent’s green transition will feature prominently, with Yellen visiting South African coal country to champion the implementation of an $8.5 billion deal, ...
U.S., Europe Backseat Drivers in Africa: Expert
He Wenping, the Program Director at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Institute of West-Asian and African Studies and one of China’s most prominent Africa experts, laid into U.S. and European efforts in Africa. In an interview in the magazine Guancha, ...
Update on Riot at Chinese-owned Factory in Indonesia
New video footage is emerging of the riot at a Chinese-owned nickel smelter in Indonesia that killed two people over the weekend. Hundreds of security personnel were deployed to quell the protests by Indonesian laborers over poor working conditions. (REUTERS)
Fun Fact: China’s Unexpected Corn Boom
Many would be surprised to hear the results of new research showing that China now produces more corn than rice. And its need for biofuels, starches and animal feed is so big it also imports huge amounts from other corn producers like Brazil.
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 ...
Central Asian Leaders Arrive in Northwestern China For First-Ever Summit With Xi Jinping
Final preparations are underway in the northwestern Chinese city of Xi'an for a high-profile two-day Central Asian summit that gets underway on Thursday hosted by President Xi Jinping and his counterparts from Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan. The gathering, known as the ...
Domestic U.S. Politics Undermine Washington’s Ability to Challenge China’s Influence in Asia-Pacific
U.S. President Joe Biden will leave for Japan on Wednesday to attend a G7 leaders summit in Hiroshima, but rather than continue on to Australia and what would have been a landmark visit to Papua New Guinea (PNG), he'll head straight back to Washington instead.
China’s Ambassador to Angola Promises President Continued Support for Infrastructure Development
Angolan President João Lourenço met with China's ambassador to Luanda, Gao Tong, on Monday for an update on the progress of several high-profile infrastructure projects that China is developing. Gao reassured the president that the new Luanda international airport, the Caculo-Cabaça hydroelectric facility, and ...
China’s Mixed Success With Media Influence in Africa
Although now more than a decade old, China's large media presence in Africa remains poorly understood on the continent and by most foreign observers. While investment to expand TV broadcaster CGTN, China Daily and China Radio International's footprint on the continent ...