Day: August 25, 2023
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WEEK IN REVIEW: Zambia Debt | Lula’s China Diss | China-Africa Journalism
Zambia suffered a major setback this week in its nearly three-year odyssey to restructure $32 billion of debt when the country's bilateral creditors led by China and France pushed back against bondholders. Plus, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva issued ...
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Philippines Digs in Heels in South China Sea While Also Cautioning Restraint
The Philippines appears to be employing a strategy of resolve and restraint in the South China Sea amid some of the most dangerous confrontations with China in recent memory. Manila said it will continue to re-supply a ship it grounded in the ...
The South China Sea Crisis is Fast Approaching a Dangerous Tipping Point
The reactions to Sunday's at-sea collisions between Chinese and Philippines maritime forces reveal a very worrisome trend in what's fast becoming one of the world's most dangerous flashpoints. While the incidents were both minor, more like gentle bumps than violent collisions, ...
EU’s Global Gateway Forum Aims to Take On China’s Belt and Road
Wednesday and Thursday will see leaders from twenty countries gathering in Brussels for the Global Gateway Forum, the newest step in the EU’s global infrastructure scheme. The forum comes a week after China’s Belt and Road Forum, which gathered representatives from about 130 countries. ...
IMF Warns China’s Slowdown Could Hit Africa, Debunks Debt Trap Myth
The International Monetary Fund released a set of reports on Africa’s economic outlook and China’s shifting role on the continent. Overall, African economies are slowly rebounding after the double shocks of the pandemic and the Ukraine crisis. However, the IMF warns this recovery is endangered by constrained lending ...
Kenya’s President Didn’t Go to China to Get New Loans, Says Finance Minister
Senior Kenyan officials are trying to set the record straight about President William Ruto's trip to China last week and whether he went there with a billion-dollar request for new loans. Before he left, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua told a radio interviewer ...
South Africa’s Rand Merchant Bank and China Construction Bank Boost Ties for Trade, Financing
South Africa’s Rand Merchant Bank and China Construction Bank have extended a partnership for another five years to foster trade relations between China and Africa. The two will focus over the next five years on supporting customers within the China-Africa corridor ...
China Protests Illegal Fishing Accusations
China is furiously protesting claims that its distant water fishing fleets are involved in rampant illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in waters as far away as South America. This follows a report by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association ...
Xi Jinping Wraps Another Weekend of Rapid-Fire Diplomacy With Leaders From Asia and the Middle East
President Xi Jinping concluded a three-day sprint of back-to-back summits this weekend with leaders from Asia and the Middle East in what's become the new norm for Chinese presidential diplomacy. Before the pandemic, Xi was China's most well-traveled leader in the ...
$23 Billion of Deals Signed at China-Arab Trade Fair
The China-Arab Trade Expo closed on Sunday in the northwestern region of Ningxia with $23.4 billion in deals signed. As is customary with these kinds of announcements, Chinese officials did not release any specific details about the deals or the companies involved.
U.S. Senator Ted Cruz Wants to Lead the Effort to Curtail China’s Growing Influence in Latin America
U.S. anxieties about China's increasingly influential presence in Latin America and the Caribbean will be a popular topic of discussion on Capitol Hill this week. Conservative Texas Senator Ted Cruz will introduce a new bipartisan resolution that calls on the United States ...
Chinese Contractor Pledges to Complete Nigerian Capital’s Light Rail in Eight Months
The local head of Chinese construction major CCECC, Jason Zheng, pledged that it would only take eight months to build the once-abandoned light rail in the Nigerian capital Abuja. Zheng made the promise during a meeting last week with Nigerian Vice ...
U.S. Acknowledges It Can’t Cut China Out of the EV Battery Supply Chain
For much of the past year, since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in 2022, U.S. officials have spoken at length about the urgent need to remove China from the critical minerals supply chain used, among other things, to manufacture electric vehicle batteries. ...
Vietnamese EV-Brand VinFast Hopes Possible EU Sanctions Against Chinese Electric Cars Will Give It an Opening
Vietnamese electric vehicle company Vinfast plans to ship its first batch of 3,000 VF8 crossovers to Europe later this year and the upstart EV brand may even get an assist from European Union trade authorities. Earlier this month, the European Commission ...
Blockbuster Movie Scares Chinese Tourists Away From Thailand
Chinese tourists landing in Bangkok on Monday were greeted with a heroes welcome, including Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, who went to the airport to personally welcome the first batch of visa-free visitors. Thailand is desperate to revive its Chinese tourism ...
The New “BRICS6” May Complicate Indonesia’s Agenda in ASEAN
BRICS on Thursday officially invited six countries to join the group — Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, Argentina, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. After all the speculations made in local media about Indonesia’s possibility to join, the country was missing from the invite list. And that is ...
Africa’s Prominent Role in the New “BRICS6”
The once lifeless BRICS bloc got a big boost of energy this week with the addition of six new members including two additional African states from Egypt and Ethiopia. Together, African countries will now account for nearly a third of the ...
WEEK IN REVIEW: Philippines Coast Guard Successfully Circumvented Chinese Maritime Forces in the South China Sea
The Philippines Coast Guard successfully circumvented Chinese maritime forces in the South China Sea to deliver provisions to the BRP Sierra Madre, a dilapidated WWII-era warship grounded on a contested shoal. China denounced Tuesday's delivery as "illegal." (RAPPLER) Vietnam is reportedly planning ...
Cambodia’s Unopposed Election Signals Unchanged Relationship with China
The Cambodian government lauded the results of the weekend’s landslide victory for the ruling Cambodian People’s Party. The choice was clear - it was essentially a one-horse race, with long-time Prime Minister Hun Sen’s party winning 120 out of 125 seats. The victory arguably signals stability in the long ...
Chinese-Funded Naval Base in Cambodia Looks Strikingly Familiar
Cambodia’s Chinese-built Ream naval base is reportedly nearing completion. The base has long been controversial, with U.S. defense officials charging that it could serve as a Chinese naval base. Satellite images show that a pier that could house an aircraft ...
Graph of the Day: How Chinese Demand Is Shifting the Global Soybean Market from the U.S. to Brazil
China is now the largest buyer of Brazil’s soybean crop, as part of a move away from U.S. exports. Chinese buyers have consistently bought large quantities of Brazilian soybeans but are now even putting in orders for delivery in October, traditionally a quiet time in Brazil’s soybean ...
Eco-Tourism in Thailand: The Case for Promoting Environmentally-Sensitive Travel to Chinese Visitors
China’s growing partnerships with Southeast Asia in the past decade, thanks largely to its Belt and Road Initiative championing the “China Dream', has attracted an influx of Chinese tourists into the region each year. Many Southeast Asian countries, including Cambodia and Thailand, have even offered ...
Why Felix Tshisekedi’s Visit to Beijing is the Weightiest Trip of His Career
Felix Tshisekedi arrives in China at a politically charged moment at home. 2023 is an election year, he faces a large opposition that not only brings together his prominent opponent Martin Fayulu, but also the former governor of Katanga (and Tshisekedi’s former political ally) Moise Katumbi.
Chinese Hackers Targeted Kenyan Government on Debt: Report
Kenya is abuzz following an exclusive report by Reuters that Chinese entities repeatedly hacked Kenyan government computer networks. The report cites cybersecurity reports and government sources to allege that unidentified Chinese actors surveilled eight Kenyan ministries and government departments for three years. The campaign reportedly included the office ...
This Graph Explains China’s Growing Influence in Latin America
Financial Times recently published a fascinating analysis of the constraints facing U.S. influence in Latin America. While U.S. policymakers face political opposition at home to the increased market access demanded by Latin American governments, the same isn't true for China. China's trade with Latin America surged from $12 ...
Key Lessons From Indonesia’s China-Backed Mining & Infrastructure Ventures
Indonesia is a pioneer among developing countries for its efforts in moving up the EV battery metal value chain. Whereas most other countries like the DR Congo and Chile export raw commodities that are processed elsewhere, Indonesia now requires all of ...
Chinese Nationals Evacuated As Sudan Enters Shaky Ceasefire
A 72-hour ceasefire started in Sudan on Monday night, the third so far in the deadly conflict that broke out ten days ago. As Sudanese keep struggling with disrupted water, electricity, and internet services, the first group of Chinese nationals was evacuated to neighboring countries. ...
Secret EU Document Reveals Big Plans for Key China Allies
Politico has obtained a confidential EU briefing outlining plans to regain influence in four “priority countries” deemed too close to China and Russia. In order to isolate China and drum up global support for Ukraine and against Russia, the document advised the ...
Guatemala Leans Into Its Support for “Republic of Taiwan”
Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei pledged his country’s unconditional support for what he repeatedly called ‘the Republic of Taiwan.’ He is on a trip to Taipei following a visit by Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen to Guatemala City in early April. Giammattei repeatedly expressed support for ...
Shifting Trade Winds between China and Latin America and the Caribbean as Free Trade Agreement Negotiations Progress
By Rebecca Ray and Zara C. Albright In 2022, the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region’s trade deficit in goods with China grew to a record 1.4 percent of regional GDP, as both sides of the relationship experienced uneven growth rebounds ...
Update on China’s Role in the Burgeoning Global South Debt Crisis
There was a lot of excitement earlier this month at the IMF and World Bank's annual gathering in Washington, D.C. about rumors that the impasse between China and multilateral development banks (MDBs) had been resolved. That stalemate between the Chinese and ...
Sri Lanka Hints at Lukewarm Response to China Exim Bank’s Debt Moratorium Offer
The China Exim Bank has reportedly agreed to grant Sri Lanka a two-year debt repayment moratorium, according to a letter sent by the Chinese policy bank to the Finance Ministry in Colombo. The letter, which has not been made public
China Tells Janet Yellen U.S. Is in No Position To Criticize Beijing on Debt Issues in Zambia
The Chinese embassy in Lusaka clapped back at U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen for her remarks that Beijing was acting as a "barrier" in Zambia's drawn-out debt restructuring process. In a sharply worded statement posted on its website Tuesday, the embassy ...
The South African Government May Be Edging Closer to China, Russia But Its People Seem to Prefer the West, Says New Poll
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will meet with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday during the last stop of her ten-day, three-nation Africa tour. Yellen's arrival in Pretoria comes one day after a high-profile visit by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and ...
Why Chinese Lending to Pacific Island Countries Has Steadily Declined in Recent Years
Chinese lending to Pacific Island Countries (PICs) is now at its lowest level in 15 years, according to new data published by the Australian think tank Lowy Institute. The findings may come as a surprise, given China's heightened diplomatic and security ...
Xi Issues Call For Solidarity Among Developing Nations in Video Address to Latin American Leaders Summit
Chinese President Xi Jinping addressed the final day of a leaders summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in Buenos Aires on Tuesday, where he renewed calls for closer coordination among developing countries and improved South-South cooperation. The President's ...
Washington’s Top Commander for U.S. Forces in the Americas Says China’s Growing Presence in the Region ‘Keeps Her Up At Night’
Prior to his retirement last year, the top commander for U.S. forces in Africa, General Stephen Townsend, was among the most vocal Pentagon officials on the perceived threat posed by China to U.S. interests abroad. General Townsend's replacement, Michael E. Langley, ...
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 ...
The New “BRICS6” May Complicate Indonesia’s Agenda in ASEAN
BRICS on Thursday officially invited six countries to join the group — Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, Argentina, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. After all the speculations made in local media about Indonesia’s possibility to join, the country was missing from the invite list. And that is ...
Africa’s Prominent Role in the New “BRICS6”
The once lifeless BRICS bloc got a big boost of energy this week with the addition of six new members including two additional African states from Egypt and Ethiopia. Together, African countries will now account for nearly a third of the ...
WEEK IN REVIEW: Philippines Coast Guard Successfully Circumvented Chinese Maritime Forces in the South China Sea
The Philippines Coast Guard successfully circumvented Chinese maritime forces in the South China Sea to deliver provisions to the BRP Sierra Madre, a dilapidated WWII-era warship grounded on a contested shoal. China denounced Tuesday's delivery as "illegal." (RAPPLER) Vietnam is reportedly planning ...