Analysis
Diverse voices, unique insights on key issues shaping China’s engagement throughout the Global South.
analysis
Reframing the Chinese Debt Crisis in Africa
Many African civil society stakeholders worry that China is going to take advantage of the worsening economic crisis to seize their countries' strategic assets. It doesn't matter that there aren't actually any precedents for these seizures, in the current era of "alternative facts" if people believe it ...
Q&A: What’s It Like to be Black in China?
After the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer and the subsequent Black Lives Matter protests across the United States, Chinese multimedia journalist Daisy Xu wanted to find out more about how her compatriots regard Black people in China. This is an especially poignant issue ...
One Way or Another Someone’s Going to Pay For Africa’s Debts
A new poll of young Arab nationals in North Africa and the Middle East revealed the kind of numbers that give people like Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron nightmares. 87% of the 18-24 years old surveyed expressed concerns about unemployment and ...
Africa’s Strategic Mineral Deposits Now at the Center of an Increasingly Fraught Great Power Competition
Iron ore, tantalum, cobalt, coltan, and a handful of other strategically important minerals and elements are at the center of an increasingly heated battle for the control of global supply chains among the world's largest economies. Leaders in Europe and the ...
StarTimes and DSTV Battle For Audiences in Africa’s Intensely Competitive Pay TV Market
One of the revealing aspects of Africa's pandemic-related downturn is that, while it's causing financial chaos across the continent this doesn't seem to be slowing the outside interest in certain African consumer sectors. Take TV, for example. For a long time, ...
Finding New Ways to Finance African Infrastructure
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta looked like he had a great time in France last week. After all, the weather in Paris this time of year is absolutely lovely and this being his first trip out of the country since the COVID-19 outbreak, he was able to get ...
Letter to the Editor: Why China Will NOT Seize the Port of Mombasa if Kenya Defaults on SGR Debt
Hi Eric, Just caught this statement [in your September 28 column "China Faces a Critical Test": "And let’s not forget that, should Kenya Railways default on the Nairobi-to-Mombasa SGR loan, there's always the Port of Mombasa that serves as collateral"] ...
Will Africa’s First Free Trade Agreement With China Actually Help Africa?
Famed for its natural beauty, surrounded by nothing but the Indian Ocean, tiny in size yet densely populated, understanding how Mauritius managed to become the most developed, diversified, and competitive economy in Africa is worth exploring. Overall, Mauritius’s economic growth is ...
About That Chinese COVID-19 Vaccine…
Chinese officials from Xi Jinping down have been clear about their intention to make any future COVID-19 vaccine available to Africa and other developing regions. "China will make its COVID-19 vaccine a global public good when it is ready for application after successful research and ...
Pity the Poor American Diplomat in Africa
Life is not getting any easier for the U.S. diplomats posted in Africa. Today's clown show, excuse me, "presidential debate," is certainly not going to make what seems like increasingly awkward and uncomfortable discussions with local stakeholders any easier. Fairly or ...
COVID-19’s Unanticipated Outcomes
The recent announcement that Zambia will default on several of its Eurobond notes, and the indication from ratings agencies that several other African countries are in similar danger are just the latest indicators of how the economic crisis kicked off by the pandemic is impacting African economies. ...
Letter to the Editor: Defending the Interests of Africa’s Private Creditors
Hi Mr. Olander, I work as a sovereign credit analyst at a private buy-side financial firm - I research the Sub-Saharan (and Middle East/North Africa) regions, and as such your content enriches my understanding of the countries in which we invest. ...