Day: July 10, 2023

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Why a Chinese Province’s Trade Plans Could Be a Game-Changer for Africa

“The United States is ‘all in’ on Africa’s future.” This was the line from President Joe Biden at the U.S.-Africa Business Forum in December. This linking of Africa and “future” is a tic of our time. It play-acts inclusivity while deftly stepping past the fact that ...

U.S. Seeks to Bolster Ties in the Caribbean to Fend Off Chinese Advance

Top diplomats from China and the U.S. were in the Caribbean at the same time in what's widely seen as the newest front in the escalating geopolitical competition between the two major powers. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in 

New Half-Billion Dollar Deal Aims to Position Angola’s Lobito Corridor as Main Gateway for Africa’s Critical Resources

The competition for access to critical metals used to manufacture electric vehicle batteries intensified with the announcement that Trafigura, a Singaporean-based commodity trading giant, is going to lead a consortium of European companies to rebuild a rail line poised to become one of Africa's most important logistics corridors. ...

The U.S. Helped Coordinate and Finance the New Lobito Corridor Deal

A Tweet by Amos Hochstein, the Biden administration's lead on infrastructure initiatives in developing countries, was the only indication last week of any U.S. involvement in the deal to rebuild the Lobito corridor in Angola. But behind the scenes, the U.S. ...

Chinese Mining Company Launches Africa’s First-Ever Lithium Processing Facility in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe became the first country in Africa to process locally-mined lithium with the opening of a new Chinese-owned refining facility outside of the capital Harare. Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe, a unit of the Chinese mining giant Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, formally commissioned the ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

China-Led Study Proposes Global Energy Network

A globally connected network of solar and wind energy could provide three times the global energy demand by 2050 at a lower cost than independent national power systems. This is the finding of a study led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in collaboration with researchers from the United States and Denmark.

The study focused on how areas with high solar and wind capacity (such as deserts) can be linked to ...

Timing of China’s New Germanium Export Restrictions Couldn’t Be Better for the DR Congo

China's announcement this month that it would limit the export of two metals used to manufacture semiconductors and other defense technologies could provide a huge opportunity for DR Congo's state-run mining company Gécamines which is planning to open a new mining facility for one of those resources.

Wagner Mercenaries Bail Out Chinese Miners Amid Uncertainty Over the Group’s Future in the Central African Republic

A group of Russian mercenary soldiers part of the controversial Wagner Group reportedly came to the rescue last week of Chinese miners in the Central African Republic (CAR) who had come under attack by local militias. Specific details of what happened ...

Indian FM Jaishankar Takes Veiled Swipe at China During Africa Tour

India's top diplomat S. Jaishankar issued a subtle yet direct criticism of China's engagement in Africa during a recent tour of Zanzibar and Tanzania. "Unlike some other countries," he told a meeting of the Indian diaspora community in Dar es Salaam, ...