Analysis
Diverse voices, unique insights on key issues shaping China’s engagement throughout the Global South.
analysis
Tanzania President Hassan is Talking to the Chinese Again About a Port Deal in Bagamoyo. But She Might Be Too Late.
Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan took everyone by surprise late last week when she announced that long-stalled talks with China about expanding the port of Bagamoyo are being resumed. Negotiations over a multi-billion dollar port deal with China Merchant Holdings (CMH) famously ...
The Impact of China’s Financing for Coal on Climate Change and Agriculture in Africa
Back in September 2020, President Xi Jinping announced China would aim for carbon neutrality by 2060, followed by setting more ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) for 2030. Such bold commitments appeared to reflect Beijing progressing towards adopting climate-friendly policies, premised on low-carbon and renewable technologies. ...
The Powerful Symbolism of The Huawei-Built Data Center Deal in Senegal
U.S. and French media were surprisingly quiet about yesterday's inauguration of a new national data center that was built with Chinese financing and equipped by Huawei. The new facility, located in Diamniadio outside of the capital Dakar, marks an important milestone in Africa. This is the first time ...
China’s Xinjiang Coalition Holds as Not a Single African or Muslim Majority Country Signs New Human Rights Statement
China's hard work in compelling African, Middle Eastern, and most other Global South countries to avoid criticizing Beijing on human rights issues in Xinjiang appears to be paying off. On Tuesday, Canada along with 43 other countries submitted a joint statement to the United ...
Why the Neocolonialism Story Will Never Die
The revelation of what appears to be massive illegal Chinese gold mining and logging operations in rural Sierra Leone could open a contentious new front in Africa-China conversations. Or more accurately, it could revivify one of the ur-themes underlying the whole relationship: the idea that China is a ...
China’s Distant-Water Fishing and Its Impact in West Africa
In recent years, China’s distant-water fishing (DWF) has expanded rapidly, particularly off the coast of West Africa, attracting the attention of NGOs and the international community. In April 2020, the Chinese government began to implement significantly stricter Regulations on the Management of Distant Water Fisheries. The new ...
Does China’s White Paper on Development Mean Anything for Africa?
In January 2021, China finally published its White Paper on International Development Cooperation. I say finally because – having seen white papers on aid published in 2011 and 2014, some people at least had the expectation that the next in the series would be in 2017! Nevertheless, ...
Amid Rising Instability in a Growing Number of African Countries, the Question of Whether China Will Remain Engaged Looms
One of the original China in Africa memes that still endures today among many people on the continent is that the "Chinese want to colonize Africa" and want to "invade" the continent using a mix of debt traps, trade dependency, and immigration.
B3W and the Democracy Issue
One of the interesting divisions emerging from the Biden administration’s campaign to re-energize the G7 and NATO against China is its attempt to divide the world into ‘democracies’ and ‘autocracies,’ and to insist that the two groups are squaring off against each other as if they’re in ...
B3W vs. BRI
Leaders from the Group of Seven (G7) richest democracies unveiled a highly-anticipated plan over the weekend for how they intend to counter China's Belt and Road Initiative and stem Beijing's growing influence in Africa and other developing regions. The ...
Sanctions and Anti-Sanctions
For those tracking the development (and high-level normalization) of ‘the new cold war,’ this week has been a doozy. U.S. President Joe Biden departed for the G7 summit in Cornwall with a rare bipartisan win in his pocket. His U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, a $250 ...
Biden to Attend G7 Summit With China on His Mind. Africa and Other Developing Regions Need to Brace For What Comes Next.
U.S. President Joe Biden arrived in the United Kingdom on Wednesday ahead of a three-day G7 summit, where confronting China in various arenas will be among the top issues on the agenda. The President hopes he will be able to rally the ...