Analysis
Diverse voices, unique insights on key issues shaping China’s engagement throughout the Global South.
analysis
Inside China’s Power Play: Understanding the Institutions Behind Africa’s Energy Projects
China’s role in African power generation is substantial. Chinese-backed projects account for approximately 23 GW of installed generation capacity across at least 27 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa – nearly 20 percent of the region’s total. This footprint reflects more than just a financial commitment; it signals ...
analysis
Indonesia’s Over-Reliance on China is a Warning for Other Global South Countries
Indonesia thought it was building a future. Instead, it built someone else’s supply chain. Last month, China imposed a 20% anti-dumping tariff on stainless steel from Indonesia, accusing Jakarta of undercutting prices and threatening Chinese producers. The penalty will remain ...
After the Revolution, Bangladesh Warms to China as India Fumes
By Sheikh Sabiha Alam with Arunabh Saikia in New Delhi Protests in Bangladesh that toppled the government last year triggered a diplomatic pivot, with Dhaka warming towards China after neighboring India was angered by the ousting of its old ally Sheikh ...
Why Was Xi a No Show at BRICS?
There's been a lot of speculation as to why Chinese President Xi Jinping opted to stay home from a BRICS summit for the first time and instead sent Chinese Premier Li Qiang in his place. Some suggested that it was because
China’s Hainan Islamic Pilgrimage Stopover Reveals Bigger Plans
China is quietly transforming the island of Hainan, located 20 kilometers offshore in the South China Sea, into a strategic transit hub for Muslim pilgrims from Southeast Asia, starting with Indonesian travelers seeking to make the pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, known as Umrah.
Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and delivers a keynote speech at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 5, 2024. (Xinhua/Liu Bin)
China’s role in African power generation is substantial. Chinese-backed projects account for approximately 23 GW of installed generation capacity across at least 27 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa – nearly 20 percent of the region’s total. This footprint reflects more than just a financial commitment; it signals a long-standing and evolving ...
How the U.S. and China Misread Southeast Asia in the Tariff War
Southeast Asia is not the world's workshop or a passive trade partner. As the U.S.-China tariff war escalates, the region is asserting a new kind of agency, trade independence rooted in national interest. Economies like Indonesia, Vietnam, and Malaysia, at the end of the day, choose ...
BRICS Nations to Gather Without Xi, Putin
By Facundo Fernández Barrio BRICS leaders will meet in Rio de Janeiro from Sunday, with the bloc depleted by the absence of China's Xi Jinping, who is skipping the annual summit of emerging economies for the first time in 12 years.
Southeast Asia Digest: Caught Between U.S. Tariff and China Shadow
This is a free preview of the upcoming Southeast Asia Weekly Digest, part of the new CGSP Intelligence service launching in Summer 2025. This week in Tariff Negotiations with the U.S.:
Understanding China’s Role in Africa’s Power Sector: A New Series from The China-Global South Project
China is helping build nearly one in every five power plants operating in Sub-Saharan Africa today, yet most people know very little about how these projects come together. As electricity demand rises and traditional development partners pull back, China’s influence is becoming even more significant.
China’s Copper Smelting Boom Backfires Amid Global Supply Strains
Over the past decade, China positioned itself as a leader in copper refining, accounting for more than half of global capacity. Its strategy designed to secure control over key critical minerals meant to power everything from clean energy grids to electric vehicles, defense equipment, and construction ...
Lithium Prices Are Crashing, But Some Producers Are Doubling Down. Why?
There is a puzzling shift unfolding in the global lithium market. Prices have collapsed by over 70% from their 2022 highs to around $12,000 per tonne, and yet, against all market logic, some Chinese lithium giants are not retreating. Instead, ...
Brazil’s BRICS Balancing Act Faces a New Test in Rio
The 17th BRICS Summit kicks off this weekend in Rio de Janeiro, but preserving the group’s original mantra of non-alignment is proving to be a challenge for Brazil, the summit’s host. Since returning to power, President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva ...
In China, Ecuador’s Noboa Looks for Breathing Room and Bargains
With a tightening fiscal clock and the weight of geopolitical balancing on his shoulders, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa touched down in China last week with more than just a forum appearance on his agenda. His trip to the 2025 Summer Davos Forum in Tianjin doubled as a ...
How China is Challenging Russia’s Nuclear Dominance in Central Asia Through Kazakhstan
Having reshaped Central Asia’s oil and gas infrastructure and challenged Russia’s long-standing dominance of the region’s traditional energy sector, China is now setting its sights on nuclear power as the next frontier. This next step is not just about energy diversification. ...
Indonesia and China’s Battery Alliance Must Be Built on Sustainability
In a bold display of ambition and diplomacy, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto stood beside Chinese executives last week to break ground on what is touted as Asia’s largest integrated electric vehicle (EV) battery ecosystem. Backed by $5.9 billion in ...
A Peer-to-Peer Pivot in China’s Overseas Development Finance
By Rebecca Ray In 2024, China extended $6.1 billion in 20 commitments in public and publicly guaranteed (PPG) loans, according to a new update to the China’s Overseas Development Finance (CODF) Database managed by the Boston University Global Development Policy ...
Analysts Doubt Congo’s Cobalt Export Restrictions Will Do Much to Boost Prices in the Long Term
The Democratic Republic of the Congo extended a four-month export ban on cobalt exports in a bid to further constrain supply and boost prices of the critical metal that's used to manufacture electric vehicle batteries. The government hopes that by keeping additional ...