From time to time when Cobus and I are interviewed by the news media seeking comment on a particular China-Africa topic, we like to share the transcript of the interview here both for reasons of transparency after the article is public and because the discussions are often informative in terms of the kinds of questions that different news outlets ask regarding China’s engagement in Africa.

The following is an unedited, full transcript of my interview this week with a journalist from Vice News in the U.S. about Chinese digital surveillance in Africa. The transcript is written in the first person, my voice, to the reporter for this interview that was conducted by email.