Analysis
Diverse voices, unique insights on key issues shaping China’s engagement throughout the Global South.
analysis
Why African Countries Can’t Rely on China to Fix The Trade Imbalance
It is beyond doubt that two-way trade will feature heavily in next week’s FOCAC ministerial meeting in Dakar, Senegal as China has already announced plans to further open its market for more African products. While this is a welcome move that will go a long way in ...
Cobalt Clarifies Everything
We’re at one of those moments when everyone suddenly remembers that Africa exists. Right through the pandemic, the debt crisis, and climate talks, the continent and its needs were seemingly invisible. But nothing sharpens the eye like an upcoming FOCAC summit. ...
Letter to the Editor: Contrary to Widespread Misperception, China Has Restructured Some of Its Commercial Loans in Africa
Hi Eric and Cobus, I’m writing to follow up on a statement about Chinese debt relief you made in a recent column: …the fact is that China has canceled some zero-interest loans that only ...
China’s Response to Blinken’s Africa Tour: Indifference Mixed With Anger
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued two seemingly contradictory messages on Monday in response to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's new foreign policy strategy for Africa, which avoided any references to China. The Secretary went out of his way during last week's three-nation African tour ...
Blinken Wrapped Up Africa Tour With a New Softer, More Conciliatory Message About Competition With China
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken returned home on Saturday after wrapping up a three-nation, five-day tour of Africa with stops in Kenya, Nigeria, and Senegal. Throughout the trip, Blinken sought to reassure his African hosts, and stakeholders across the continent, ...
The Global South and Communist Party Politics
By Mariah Thornton, China Foresight LSE IDEAS To those of us observing China from the outside, the internal politics of the Communist Party of China (CPC) often seem obscure, like a black box. However, these internal struggles give us a sense ...
As the World Forgets About the Debt Crisis, More African Countries Struggle to Stay Afloat Amid Rising Servicing Costs
Last year at this time, expectations ran high that Africa's largest creditors in Beijing, and among the Paris Club members were all motivated to restructure their outstanding loans to reduce the burden on some of the world's poorest countries. Well, it ...
China Surpassed 1 Billion Vaccine Exports: But What More Can It Do?
By Alex Henderson, Zoe Leung, Marisa Lim, and Christine Ow Global demand for COVID-19 vaccines has never been of higher significance. While many countries have already reached high vaccination rates, new rationales have again increased the relevance of vaccines. In ...
After COP26: China, the Global South and the Messy Reality of Climate Politics
By Lukas Fiala and Hugo Jones, China Foresight LSE IDEAS The China-U.S. Joint Declaration on Enhancing Climate Action in the 2020s came as a surprise to most observers, breaking two weeks of geopolitical bickering at COP26. “In the area of climate ...
China, Africa and the Global Race to Source EV Battery Metals
Chinese automakers smashed another monthly record for production and sales of electric vehicles in October. Car companies produced just under 400,000 vehicles last month, up 133% from the same time last year and almost 10% from September, according to new data from the Chinese ...
Q&A: What Role Did Domestic Politics Play in the Development of the Chinese-Built SGR in Kenya?
Beginning next May, Kenya's Standard Gauge Railway will be "fully owned and run by Kenyans" declared Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani at a graduation ceremony last week for 2,057 students from the country's Railway Training Institute. Until now, much ...
The Mysteries of Popularity
Last week we spoke with Joanna Chiu about her fascinating book China Unbound: A New World Disorder. The book focuses on the mechanics of Chinese influence-building around the world. It touches down in several places, including Greece, Russia, Turkey, and Hong Kong, but its main focus falls on ...