Day: August 25, 2025

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From Estrangement to Reassessment? Israeli Media and Expert Views on China After the Twelve-Day War

By Amanda Chen Building on our previous analysis of China’s official position and expert debate on the Iran–Israel War, this edition of the ChinaMed Observer examines how the conflict has shaped Israeli analysts’ perceptions of China’s role in the Middle East. Even prior to ...

China Slams Vietnam Over Island-Building in South China Sea

China condemned Vietnam over a report it had sped up island-building in an area of the disputed South China Sea that Beijing claims as its own. "China firmly opposes the relevant country’s construction activities on islands and reefs they have illegally ...

Vietnam Expands Island-Building in the South China Sea

Vietnam's development of 21 Vietnamese-claimed rocks and low-tide elevations in the South China Sea has expanded considerably since 2021 to the point where it will match and possibly even exceed Chinese reclamation activity in the region. The findings in a new report ...

Lobito Corridor Not Intended to Counter China in Africa, Says New CEO

The Lobito Atlantic Railway (LAR) corridor is purely a commercial venture with “zero geopolitical considerations," said the new CEO, Nicholas Fournier, in an interview with the South China Morning Post newspaper. Fournier said the upgrade of the massive 1,800km-long railway that ends ...

Japan Revives Nacala Corridor in Africa as It Seeks to Cut China Out of Mineral Supply Chains

A much more subdued Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) wrapped up in Yokohama on Friday, which lacked many of the big check pledges of previous TICAD gatherings and instead focused on fostering trade ties between Japan and Africa. In his ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

Plugging into African Agency

After several years of declining funding, the African end of the Belt and Road Initiative seems to be roaring back. The newest Griffith University/Green Development Finance Center data on the Belt and Road Initiative shows that engagement with Africa jumped by 395%, while a few big projects boosted engagement in Nigeria alone more than twelvefold.

These shifts indicate a window of opportunity for African electrification. 60% of Africans still lack ...

How Chinese Companies Weigh Risk Against Profit in Africa’s Volatile Goldfields

Is Africa’s gold rush worth the life-and-death risks? Armed militants regularly storm mines in Ghana, Mali, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, wrecking equipment, kidnapping workers, and demanding ransoms. Embassies have even urged Chinese firms to pull out. Yet with gold ...

Indonesia, U.S. and Allies Launch Joint Military Drills

Indonesia and the United States launched joint military drills on Monday that will last more than a week, joining allies from 11 countries in exercises aimed at ensuring stability in the Asia-Pacific region. The annual "Super Garuda Shield" drills will take ...

Nigeria Deports Wanted Chinese Gang Leader

Nigeria's police service said Sunday it had extradited a Chinese gang leader wanted in his home country for organized violent crime, in an operation conducted with Interpol. A police statement said "high-profile fugitive", Dai Qisheng was sent to China on August ...