Analysis
Diverse voices, unique insights on key issues shaping China’s engagement throughout the Global South.
analysis
Congo’s Cobalt Curbs Expose China’s Critical Metals Weak Spot
By Andy Home China's dominance of critical mineral supply chains is not as absolute as it may appear. Cobalt is a case in point. China accounted for ...
analysis
The Paradox of Panama’s “Rule of Law”: Hutchison Ports vs. Minera Panama
In the wake of the forced transition at the ports of Balboa and Cristóbal, Panamanian Foreign Minister Javier Martínez-Acha sent a clear message to the international community: Panama is a country of legal certainty, and the government is "simply respecting a Supreme Court ruling" regarding the ouster ...
U.S. and China Hold the Keys to Containing a Mideast Oil Shock
By Ron Bousso A serious military confrontation between the U.S. and Iran could trigger a major disruption in Middle East oil supplies. The vast oil reserves the U.S. and China hold could prove critical in containing it. For now, uncertainty dominates ...
The Rise of “Bully Diplomacy” in Critical Minerals
If U.S. President Donald Trump’s cold, realpolitik, interest-driven critical minerals diplomacy is unlikely to fundamentally shake China’s dominance of the global critical minerals supply chain, it may nevertheless begin to shift certain fault lines and push Chinese interests into spaces where they had previously gone largely unchallenged. ...
China Remains Undeterred in the Grey Zone
By Sam Mullins The final days of 2025 saw Taiwan surrounded by Chinese warships, aircraft and coast guard vessels in what the Chinese Ministry of Defense described as a serious warning to ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces and foreign interference. ...
An employee of Chinese company CMOC surveys a pit in Tenke Fungurume Mine, one of the largest copper and cobalt mines in the world, in southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, on June 17, 2023. China's dominance of critical mineral supply chains is not as absolute as it may appear since t lacks significant domestic mining capacity, leaving it highly dependent on imports of raw materials. Photo by Emmet LIVINGSTONE / AFP
By Andy Home China's dominance of critical mineral supply chains is not as absolute as it may appear. Cobalt is a case in point. China accounted for 78% of global refined ...
How China Plans to Dominate Global Trade Long After Trump
By Joe Cash China sees an opening to turn President Donald Trump's tariffs to its advantage by reshaping global trade in ways that would insulate its $19 trillion economy from U.S. pressure for the foreseeable future.
Can Chinese Agricultural Tech Work for Kenya?
By Duncan Mboyah Many Kenyan farmers work fertile land close to fast-growing urban markets. But they are struggling as rainfall gets less predictable, heat stress rises and pests and diseases spread. For smallholders, a single ...
China E-Mobility Weekly Digest: Africa’s EV Minerals Processing Shifts Manufacturing as Electricity Revenues Grow
This is a free preview of the Africa EVs Weekly Digest, part of the new CGSP Intelligence service. From Kenya’s green number plates to South Africa’s industrial incentives, a number of African governments are moving beyond small electric vehicle ...
Foreign Cars Flow to Russia Through China, Skirting Ukraine War Sanctions
By Alessandro Parodi, Gleb Stolyarov and Alexandr Reshetnikov Tens of thousands of cars are being exported from China to Russia under gray-market schemes that often circumvent Western and Asian government sanctions and automakers' commitments to exit the Russian market, according to ...
As U.S. Engagement Wavers, Southeast Asia Finds a New Climate Partner in China
As aid from the United States and other Western countries dwindles and global trade tensions rise, Southeast Asia’s urgent need for green energy is finding a ready banker and builder in China. Experts caution that this shift is reshaping the region’s economic and strategic landscape at the ...
Looking Beyond “Useful Africa” at the Mining Indaba
With U.S.-South Africa ties in the deep freeze, it was notable to see the sheer size of the U.S. delegation sent to this week’s Mining Indaba in Cape Town – one of the most prominent industry gatherings and one of the few where the Global South ...
Panama and the New U.S. Strategy to Counter China in Latin America
The Panama Supreme Court’s ruling against Hutchison Ports in late January was not merely an isolated legal event; it was the successful proof-of-concept for a new geopolitical weapon. What appears on the surface to be a dispute over contracts from ...
Taiwan Leader Warns Countries in Region ‘Next’ in Case of China Attack: AFP Interview
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te warned that countries in the region would be China's next targets should Beijing seize the democratic island, as he insisted that Taiwan must dramatically shore up its defences. Speaking to AFP in his first interview with a ...
Can Africa Win as the West and China Scramble for Minerals?
By Clyde Russell Two multi-billion-dollar rail projects in Africa. One headed west, the other east. One backed by Western countries, the other by China. Both are aiming to ship vast quantities of critical minerals. Welcome to the new scramble for Africa. ...
The China Factor Missing From the Headlines at This Year’s African Mining Indaba
The mining industry’s most important annual gathering is underway this week in Cape Town, South Africa, where corporate and government elites are convening for what is typically a routine, largely unremarkable business conference. This year is a little different.
U.S. Moves to Counter China in Bangladesh, Plans to Pitch Defense Alternatives
By Krishna N. Das The United States is concerned about China's expanding presence in South Asia and is planning to offer Bangladesh’s next government U.S. and allied defense systems as alternatives to Chinese hardware, Washington's ambassador to Dhaka told Reuters.
China E-Mobility Weekly Digest: Africa’s EV Future at Risk as Oil, Policy and Power Clash
This is a free preview of the Africa EVs Weekly Digest, part of the new CGSP Intelligence service. This week brings new insights into why an electric vehicle revolution is a non-starter in many African countries. Key factors include ...