Day: December 6, 2023
Related Posts
China’s Contradictory Position At COP28
Keeping track of China’s role at the COP28 climate gathering has been an exercise in sitting with contradiction. On the one hand, China’s the worst! A study released this week showed that Chinese and Indian emissions pushed dangerous heat-trapping emissions 1.1% higher ...
Related Posts
PLA Navy Closes Part of the South China Sea for Live-Fire Exercises
The Chinese Navy blocked off a large swathe of the South China Sea on Tuesday for two days of live fire exercises, according to a statement by the Maritime Safety Administration (MSA). Neither the MSA nor the PLA Navy provided details as ...
PLA Navy Warships Make First Port of Call in Cambodia’s New Chinese-Built Port
A small flotilla of Chinese warships that includes a destroyer, a frigate and a supply vessel docked at Cambodia's newly upgraded Ream naval base on Tuesday in the southwestern province of Sihanoukville. Defense Minister Tea Seiha said the PLA Navy warships came ...
Ford’s Nickel Deal With Huayou Cobalt Exposes the Limits of U.S. Influence to Counter China
The Ford Motor Company is moving forward with a massive $3.8 billion three-way nickel deal with Brazilian miner Vale and Chinese mining giant Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt. Nickel is one of the key metals used to manufacture electric vehicle batteries, that companies ...
Fentanyl, Trade and Relief Supplies Top Mexican Foreign Secretary’s First Official Visit to China
Mexico's Foreign Secretary Alicia Bárcena Ibarra met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday in Beijing, her first official visit to the Chinese capital. The trip was framed as a follow-up from last month's meeting between their two presidents, Andrés ...
Chinese Media Reaction to Aisha Huang’s Sentencing Focuses on the Lack of Effective Governance in Ghana
Online media reaction to this week's sentencing of Chinese national Aisha Huang, aka "The Galamsey Queen," by the High Court in Ghana to four and a half years in prison for running a vast illegal mining operation was predictably subdued. Generally speaking, ...
Why Biden’s Use of ‘Debt Trap’ Was so Awkward
This weekend, U.S. President Joe Biden made clear that, no matter how often it’s debunked, the “debt trap” will never die. Without recapping the entire debate, the talking point implies that Global South countries work with China because they’re ill-informed or have ...
Biden Renews Debt Trap Allegation Against China Even Though the Charge Has Been Widely Debunked
U.S. President Joe Biden resurfaced the widely discredited debt trap accusation against China as part of a larger effort to differentiate Washington's economic engagement strategy in the Western Hemisphere from that of Beijing's. The president made the claim on Friday during his ...
All it Takes is a Simple Google Search to Confirm the China Debt Trap Meme Isn’t Real
President Joe Biden's latest reference to Chinese "debt traps" is part of a broader pattern among high-level U.S. legislative, government and military officials to level the charge against China's lending practices. It's odd that they continue to make the claim since it's been ...
Why the Repeated Claims of Chinese Debt Trap Diplomacy is So Damaging to U.S. Foreign Policy
U.S. President Joe Biden’s comment to leaders from the Americas that: “I want to make sure that our closest neighbors know they have a real choice between debt-trap diplomacy and high-quality transparent approaches to infrastructure and to development,” was only a passing moment.
Japan Bolsters Closest-Ever Security Ties With Philipines as China Rattles Region
Japan and the Philippines agreed to begin talks to allow Japanese troop deployments on Filipino soil, as China’s actions in the region drive the two partners into their closest-ever security ties. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s weekend trip to meet with ...
U.S. and China Trade Blame in ‘Candid’ South China Sea Talks
Chinese and U.S. officials accused each other of bearing responsibility for dangerously high tensions that have turned the South China Sea into one of the most volatile flashpoints in the world. Officials from the U.S. State Department and China's Boundary and ...
Biden is Caught Between a Shoal and a Hard Place
U.S. President Joe Biden was unequivocal last month when he reaffirmed his commitment to defend the Philippines from an armed attack by Chinese naval forces in the South China Sea. "Any attack on Filipino aircraft, vessels, or armed forces will invoke ...
The U.S. Response to China’s Dominance of African Critical Minerals
Bloomberg correspondent Matthew Hill hosts a compelling eight minute mini-documentary on how the United States is now starting to mount a response to China's dominance of certain sectors of Africa's critical minerals supply chain.
Chinese Envoys Push Peace Efforts But Real Ambitions Remain Unclear
The UN Security Council (UNSC) will hold a closed session on the Israel crisis on Monday at the request of China and the United Arab Emirates. China pledged to promote peace in the Palestinian territories as it took over the presidency of the UN Security Council last week.
What’s It Like to Study China-Africa Relations at Harvard University?
Only a handful of universities around the world teach area studies courses in China-Africa relations. It's a field that was once quite popular but less so today as interest in studying Chinese affairs more broadly has fallen precipitously. ...
WEEK IN REVIEW: DRC President Félix Tshisekedi Officially Inaugurated a New Chinese-Built Dry Port
Félix Tshisekedi, the president of the DRC, officially inaugurated a new Chinese-built dry port. The Sakania dry port is on the border with Zambia and will double as a border post and a nerve center in the countries’ cross-border mining industries. Built by Jiayou International Logistics, it is ...
How Are We to Understand China’s Ambitions to Reform Global Governance?
By Lukas Fiala 方朗克 After expanding the guest list of BRICS in August, Beijing has been busy articulating its vision for reforming global order. The publication of a position paper on global governance reform launched by the Ministry of Foreign ...
Premier Li Qiang Tries to Reassure China’s Southeast Asian Neighbors in ASEAN Address
Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang sought to soothe tensions with its neighbors in Southeast Asia during his keynote address on Wednesday at the ASEAN leaders summit in Jakarta. Li did not specifically reference the recent confrontations with the Philippines in the ...
While ASEAN Diplomats Converge in Jakarta, Major Powers Conduct Joint Military Exercises Across Southeast Asia
Whether by coincidence or design, three Southeast Asian countries launched high-profile joint military exercises this week with various major powers while leaders from these countries met in Jakarta for the ongoing ASEAN summit. On Sunday, the Chinese and Thai navies kicked ...
U.S. Says China’s Map Claims Over South China Sea, Indian Border Regions Are “Unlawful”
The United States joined a growing list of countries to reject China's territorial claims detailed in its new standard map that was published last week. State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel addressed the issues on Tuesday at the daily press ...
Chinese, Vietnamese Communist Party Leaders Meet Ahead of Biden Visit to Hanoi
China dispatched a high-level Communist Party (CPC) emissary to Vietnam days before U.S. President Joe Biden is set to arrive when he is expected to upgrade diplomatic ties with Hanoi. Liu Jianchao, head of the CPC's international liaison department, met with ...
At the Africa Climate Summit, China Can Lead by Example on Financing Sustainable Development in Africa
By Kevin P. Gallagher The climate crisis was caused by actors outside of Africa, yet Africans are suffering among the worst effects from climate change. Looking forward, African nations need to mobilize financing upwards of 10% of GDP annually to adapt to ...
China’s Ambassador to Nepal Sparks New Uproar in India
China's steadily worsening ties with India soured further on Tuesday when Beijing's ambassador to Kathmandu, Chen Song, criticized New Delhi's "policies towards Nepal and other neighbors" as "not so friendly." Chen's remarks sparked an angry response in the Indian media, which ...
China Offers to Serve as Mediator in Niger
The Chinese ambassador to Niger, Jing Feng, met with the transition Prime Minister Ali Mahamane Lamine Zene on Monday and offered to serve as a mediator to help defuse the escalating political crisis in the West African country. “The Chinese government intends ...
China Uncharacteristically Muted Response to Taiwan President’s Trip to Eswatini
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen arrived in Eswatini on Tuesday for a three-day visit to mark the tiny landlocked country's 55th anniversary of its independence. The visit is symbolically important given that the southern African kingdom is Taiwan's last diplomatic ally on ...
From Manufacutring to Movies to Stock Markets, China and Saudi Arabia Sign a Flurry of New Development Deals
The pace of news business development deals between Saudi Arabia and China appears to be gaining momentum amid a slate of new announcements this week, highlighting increasingly close financial ties between the two countries: MOVIES: Leading Saudi Arabian ...
Q&A: ASEAN Is Showing Teeth To Myanmar
On the first day of the 43rd ASEAN Summit in Jakarta, the group leaders released a review on the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus (5PC), which was put out in 2021 to help resolve the crisis in Myanmar. The document ...
DRC Government Tries to Reframe Underwhelming Beijing Visit
Félix Tshisekedi, the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, left for a trip to Beijing last week amid sky-high expectations of both new deals and the significant reworking of current agreements widely seen in his country as favoring Chinese actors. None of this happened.
Why Are DRC Officials Backtracking on Tshisekedi’s Beijing Trip?
We asked China Global South Francophone Africa Editor and DRC political analyst Geraud Neema to explain attempts by DRC officials to reframe President Félix Tshisekedi's lackluster trip to Beijing. Why were the ministers so emphatic that they didn't go to China ...
Chinese Envoy Waves Farewell to DRC
After years in the crucible of the extremely complex and contentious relationship between China and the DRC, Ambassador Zhu Jing is moving on a notably senior position in the EU.
How Chinese Distant Fishing Is Wrecking Coastal Economies
China’s distant fishing fleet is increasingly affecting coastal economies throughout the Global South. With an estimated 17,000 vessels, China has the world’s largest distant fishing fleet. They operate in a legal grey zone, hauling thousands of tons of sea creatures from international ...
TRANSLATION: Africa is the Most Contempible Region for Chinese Living Abroad
This is the second in a series of posts that we've translated from the popular online writer Nie Shaorui (聂少聂) who is based in East Africa and regularly posts provocative columns about daily life for the Chinese diaspora in Africa. The purpose of these translations is to ...
Prioritizing Socio-Ecological Protections: Study Shows Deregulation Doesn’t Attract Chinese Investment
By Christina Duran In a March 2023 synthetic report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) emphasized that Central and South America face adverse impacts from increased climate damage “without rapid, deep and sustained mitigation and accelerated adaptation action,” which ...
EACOP: Court to Determine Fate of Oil Pipeline Project by Chinese, Other Shareholders
Just days after Lloyd’s Cincinnati confirmed that it will not insure the controversial East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), the project faces another hurdle at the East African Court of Justice (EACJ). The EACJ is expected to rule in the case ...
Saudi, Iranian Foreign Ministers Sign Deal in Beijing to Restore Diplomatic Ties, Resume Flights
The foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia and Iran made it official to fully restore diplomatic ties and resume direct flights between the once-rival countries. Iran's Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and Saudi Arabia's Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud signed the follow-up statement on ...
China’s Top Africa Embarks Envoy on Three-Country Tour
Wu Peng, China's top diplomat in Africa, tweeted that he's visiting Guinea, Niger and Sierra Leone this week. Notably, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also recently visited Niger, where he announced a $150 million assistance package for the Sahel. Chinese companies also have major ...
China’s Southeast Asian Diplomatic Blitz
This is a busy time for diplomacy between China and its Southeast Asian neighbors. Senior Chinese officials are holding numerous meetings with their counterparts in the region. Following the recently-concluded visits from Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Singaporean Prime Minister ...
How Does Africa Get the Tech It Needs?
As geopolitical tensions rise, external partners want a say in African development choices. This is particularly true for digital expansion, where Global South countries are frequently framed as battlegrounds between Chinese companies like Huawei and Western competitors. However, African policymakers are gaining ...
Key Foreign Policy Outcomes From the Opening Weekend of China’s Two Sessions
Foreign policy priorities featured more prominently at China's annual legislative gathering that kicked off in Beijing over the weekend than in recent years. The event known as the Two Sessions is a joint convention of China's National People's Congress (NPC) and ...
China Not to Blame for Debt Crisis in Developing Countries, Say a Chorus of Chinese Spokespeople in Beijing
Don't blame us, blame them emerged as a sort of chorus among various Chinese spokespeople in Beijing in recent days. They're all pushing back against accusations that Beijing is the cause of the worsening debt crisis in Africa, Asia and other Global South regions.
China’s New Line on Ghana Debt: We Own Less Than 5%, so Why Are You Talking to Us?
Even though talks between Chinese creditors and the Ghanaian government are now underway in Accra to restructure the country's $1.7 billion of bilateral debt, a narrative that Beijing is delaying the process is taking hold in the Ghanaian media. The problem stems ...
Stand-off Between China and Western Creditors Leading to Unprecedented Delays In Debt Relief for Poor Countries
Just ten years ago, it usually took less than two months for a debt-distressed country to get a sign-off from the International Monetary Fund for emergency financial relief, but that is no longer the case, according to new data compiled by Reuters.
A Call for the African Union to Break the Global South Debt Impasse
Gyude Moore, a senior policy fellow at the Center for Global Development, is among a small group of Washington, D.C.-based analysts trying to devise practical solutions for how developing countries can unblock the current impasse preventing debt-distressed countries from restructuring their loans.
Chinese Foreign Ministry Releases Details of Qin Gang’s G20 Meetings With Other Foreign Ministers
While stark differences over the war in Ukraine made it impossible for G20 foreign ministers to reach a consensus at last week's meeting in New Delhi, China's Qin Gang nonetheless took advantage of the opportunity to hold a number of bilateral meetings with key counterparts.
Germany’s Finance Minister Singles Out China in Debt Relief Appeal for Ghana
German Finance Minister Christian Lindner is the latest high-ranking Western official to pressure China to do more to help relieve the burgeoning debt crisis in a growing number of African countries. "I remind China of its responsibilities as a very important ...
How Much Ghana Owes China Depends on Who You Ask
At first glance, Ghana doesn't owe China that much when measured against its outstanding debts to both multilateral development banks like the IMF and the World Bank and, more importantly, bondholders. $1.7 billion in the context of what other developing countries owe Chinese ...
China is Pushing For a Major Change in Global South Debt Restructuring
The Chinese government provided its first official confirmation that it will provide Sri Lanka with a two-year debt repayment moratorium on $2.83 billion of loans owed to The China Exim Bank. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning's statement on Friday was intended, in part, ...
China-IMF Impasse in Sri Lanka “Has to be Broken, One Way or Another,” Says Debt Expert
Brad Setser, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a noted sovereign debt expert, wrote a brief analysis of why the China Exim Bank's offer of a two-year debt moratorium is "insufficient". (The following transcript has been lightly ...
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 ...
China’s Contradictory Position At COP28
Keeping track of China’s role at the COP28 climate gathering has been an exercise in sitting with contradiction. On the one hand, China’s the worst! A study released this week showed that Chinese and Indian emissions pushed dangerous heat-trapping emissions 1.1% higher ...
PLA Navy Closes Part of the South China Sea for Live-Fire Exercises
The Chinese Navy blocked off a large swathe of the South China Sea on Tuesday for two days of live fire exercises, according to a statement by the Maritime Safety Administration (MSA). Neither the MSA nor the PLA Navy provided details as ...
PLA Navy Warships Make First Port of Call in Cambodia’s New Chinese-Built Port
A small flotilla of Chinese warships that includes a destroyer, a frigate and a supply vessel docked at Cambodia's newly upgraded Ream naval base on Tuesday in the southwestern province of Sihanoukville. Defense Minister Tea Seiha said the PLA Navy warships came ...
Ford’s Nickel Deal With Huayou Cobalt Exposes the Limits of U.S. Influence to Counter China
The Ford Motor Company is moving forward with a massive $3.8 billion three-way nickel deal with Brazilian miner Vale and Chinese mining giant Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt. Nickel is one of the key metals used to manufacture electric vehicle batteries, that companies ...
Fentanyl, Trade and Relief Supplies Top Mexican Foreign Secretary’s First Official Visit to China
Mexico's Foreign Secretary Alicia Bárcena Ibarra met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday in Beijing, her first official visit to the Chinese capital. The trip was framed as a follow-up from last month's meeting between their two presidents, Andrés ...
Chinese Media Reaction to Aisha Huang’s Sentencing Focuses on the Lack of Effective Governance in Ghana
Online media reaction to this week's sentencing of Chinese national Aisha Huang, aka "The Galamsey Queen," by the High Court in Ghana to four and a half years in prison for running a vast illegal mining operation was predictably subdued. Generally speaking, ...