Analysis
Diverse voices, unique insights on key issues shaping China’s engagement throughout the Global South.
analysis
Chinese EVs Price Wars Domino Effect on Africa’s Nascent EV Market
Faced with rising fuel costs, vehicle buyers in Kenya and Ethiopia are turning to affordable electric alternatives from Chinese manufacturers such as Changan, Neta, Wuling, and Xiaohu. These compact EVs, well-suited for taxi services and short-distance travel, are gaining ground as practical replacements for traditional ...
Indonesia Nickel Glut Triggers Mining, Smelter Moratorium Calls
China’s Tsingshan Holding Group, which produces nearly one-third of the world’s stainless steel, has suspended major production lines at its Indonesian nickel smelter, the clearest sign yet that the global nickel market is buckling under glut, collapsing prices, and demand, fueling urgent calls for a moratorium on ...
China-Linked Mines in Myanmar Blamed for Toxic Pollution Flowing Into Thailand
By Chayanit Itthipongmaetee and Sally Jensen A sprawling new mine is gouged into the lush rolling hills of northeast Myanmar, where civil war has weakened the government's already feeble writ, and pollution levels are rising downstream in Thailand. ...
Critical Minerals Weekly: China’s Rare Earth Curbs, EV Delays, and Global Supply Chain Scramble
This is a free preview edition of the new Critical Minerals Weekly Digest that will be available to subscribers of the new CGSP Intelligence service that will launch during the Summer of 2025. Topline Insight
China Carefully Assembling a Deep-Sea Mining Strategy
By Amelie Bottolier-Depois with Mary Yang in Beijing In a world hungry for crucial resources, China may not be poised to start deep-sea mining but it is planting seeds for such operations in a meticulously planned economic and geopolitical strategy.
Chinese Perspectives on Trump’s Middle East Tour
By Giorgia Facchini From May 13 to May 16, Donald Trump embarked on his first major international trip of his second term, a four-day tour of the Gulf, with the U.S. President visiting Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates ...
Grassroots Diplomacy in Dairi: How a Small Indonesian Community is Challenging China’s Zinc Ambitions
The sounds of mining machinery in the highlands of Indonesia’s North Sumatra province have fallen silent — not due to proactive government intervention or seamless regulatory enforcement, but because of relentless grassroots resistance. A controversial mining project in the Bukit Barisan ...
ASEAN, Gulf, and China Signal New Phase in Global South Climate Leadership
For decades, global climate action has been largely shaped by the Global North—through frameworks like the Paris Agreement and funding mechanisms such as the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JET-P). These initiatives have set the tone, the goals, and the financial flows, often leaving countries in the Global ...
Trump’s Middle East Pivot Aims to Counter China’s Rising Influence
By Maria Papageorgiou The U.S. president, Donald Trump, claimed he was able to secure deals totalling more than $2 trillion for the U.S. on his tour of the Gulf states in May. Trump said “there has never been anything like” the amount ...
Troubled Chinese EV Maker Casts Shadow Over Africa’s Affordable Electric Car Market
Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers are increasingly shipping their products to African countries, where first-time car owners are turning to more affordable models from lesser-known Chinese manufacturers, such as Neta and Xiaohu. While the small manufacturers have struck a ...
Europe’s Green Mining Regulations May Push Africa Closer to China
While Europe’s environmental policy to limit carbon emissions is well-meaning and aims to fight climate change, it could actually make things worse for Africa. Instead of helping the continent to develop its industries, EU policy might instead give China more control over access to valuable mineral resources, ...
China Lead Mine Plan Weighs Heavily on Myanmar Tribe
Hundreds of protesting Myanmar tribespeople march up a hillside to a cavernous facility where a Chinese joint venture's giant milling machines stand ready to grind up the rocks of their ancestral homeland for lead ore. Demand for the heavy metal is ...