This weekend, African politicians in several countries convened press conferences, took to Twitter and signed joint letters of protest to register their outrage over allegations of poor treatment of African migrants in China. This seems to have been provoked by a new wave of videos and other accounts of purported discrimination that surfaced on social media. The authenticity of these videos, in terms of when they were shot and the specific context behind the interactions they depict, has not been verified. Regardless, the videos and other accounts inflamed an already tense situation.

There were two notable moments in this latest upsurge in anti-Chinese anger, occurring within 24 hours on opposite sides of the continent.