Analysis
Diverse voices, unique insights on key issues shaping China’s engagement throughout the Global South.
analysis
China Merchants Group Exporting Its Shekou Model of Port-industrial Development to Africa
As the final frontier for trade growth, Africa is the only region where exponential economic and cargo growth is still possible. The continent is home to some of the world’s fastest-growing economies. However, many existing African ports do not have the capacity to accommodate a growing demand ...
Chinese Policy Options in Response to the Worsening Security Crisis in Ethiopia
The pressure on Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed intensified considerably over the past 24 hours following reports that rebel forces from the northern Tigray region are gaining ground and even apparently considering marching towards the capital Addis Ababa. In response, the PM declared a state of emergency ...
The China-Mediterranean Observer: Exploring the Ramifications of Iran’s Membership to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization
We start this issue of the ChinaMed Observer with the new developments in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). On September 17, during the SCO Summit in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, Iran’s permanent membership in the organization was finalized. Many Iranian politicians and experts have voiced enthusiastic opinions of ...
Debt Relief for World’s Poorest Countries Barely Mentioned at G20 Summit in Rome
Leaders from the world's wealthiest countries meeting in Rome over the weekend covered a lot of ground on everything from finalizing an agreement on a global minimum corporate tax to new climate-related commitments. But for a ...
Sudan and China’s Evolving Non-Interference Policy in the Global South
By Lukas Fiala and Hugo Jones, China Foresight LSE IDEAS Scenes of chaos reached us from Sudan this week, as a fragile power-sharing agreement collapsed. On 25th October, merely weeks after a failed coup attempt, Sudanese generals toppled the civilian-led government that had ...
The Pressure is on the G20 to do Something… Anything… About Debt Relief at This Weekend’s Summit in Rome
Debt relief for the world's poorest countries will once again be a topic of discussion at yet another high-profile G20 gathering this weekend in Rome. Yet, there's good reason to doubt that little more will come out of this meeting than any of the ...
The Lives of African Youth Need to Be on the Climate Agenda in Glasgow
Our podcast conversation this week with the Kenyan economist Anzetse Were was a feast of insights. Among these was her point that there is a massive lag between financing for climate mitigation versus climate adaptation. The former refers to measures directly aimed at reducing future ...
Chinese Companies Looking to Improve Their Reputations in Africa Could Learn a Lot From What Huawei’s Doing in Kenya
Very few Chinese companies have been able to generate the kind of goodwill that Chinese telecom giant Huawei enjoys in Kenya and it’s not by chance. When it comes to local employment, the company spans a whole value chain from suppliers, technicians, charitable partners, educators, and academics ...
Q&A: What’s At Stake For China in Sudan?
China's reaction, so far, to Monday's military coup in Sudan has been reserved, especially compared to the forceful response Beijing issued within 24 hours of last month's overthrow of President Alpha Condé's government in Guinea. But China's interests in Guinea and Sudan are very different and ...
COVID Flare-Ups in China Threaten to Disrupt What’s Otherwise Been a Strong Year For China-Africa Trade
While global trade experiences unprecedented disruptions of major supply chain networks, that turbulence does not appear to have had much effect on the volume of Chinese trade with African countries, at least so far. Chinese ...
The Colonial Connection to Chinese Labor Disputes in Africa
The last year or so has seen a constant drip-drip-drip of social media videos showing Chinese managers abusing African workers. The trend has understandably cast a harsh light on Africa-China labor relations. To my mind, the resultant framing of Chinese labor practices in Africa as neo-colonial is ...
Erdogan Tours Africa Sounding a Lot Like a Chinese President
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Nigeria on Tuesday, the second leg of his three-nation, four-day tour of Africa. While the primary focus of his visit to Nigeria will be to foster closer commercial ties with Ankara's largest trading partner on the continent, the ...