A bill currently under consideration in New York State could reshape sovereign debt renegotiations around the world by making private creditors accept the same losses as the U.S. government would as a sovereign creditor instead of holding out for a full payback.
The bill comes as countries like Zambia and Sri Lanka face their loan renegotiations being dragged out for years as U.S.-based private lenders stonewall to obtain better deals. 52% of the ...
Author: C. Geraud Neema
Why Felix Tshisekedi’s Visit to Beijing is the Weightiest Trip of His Career
Felix Tshisekedi arrives in China at a politically charged moment at home. 2023 is an election year, he faces a large opposition that not only brings together his prominent opponent Martin Fayulu, but also the former governor of Katanga (and Tshisekedi’s former political ally) Moise Katumbi.
Turns Out, There Are Grievances on Both Sides of the China-DR Congo Relationship
Ahead of President Tshisekedi's arrival in Beijing on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Qin Gang met his Congolese counterpart Christophe Lutundula yesterday. Beyond the formalities and diplomatic courtesies reaffirming the strength of relations between the two countries, Qin made a comment that may ...
What’s At Stake During Félix Tshisekedi’s China Trip?
The President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Félix Tshisekedi, is making a landmark trip to Beijing the week. It comes amid ongoing controversy both domestically and internationally, about the economic dominance of massive Chinese investments in the central African country. ...
Unpacking the CMOC Deal: What Do We Know So Far?
The newly-announced deal between the Chinese mining giant CMOC and the DRC’s state mining company Gécamines is raising many questions. We asked our Francophone editor Christian-Géraud Neema, who is also an expert on DRC mining, to clue us in: WHAT DO ...
Backgrounder: China-Australia Iron Ore Fight
The Australian-based company Sundance Resources is suing the China-linked Australia-based AustSino for malpractice and corruption over the Mbalam-Nabeba iron project on the border of Cameroon and the Republic of Congo. The court case has led to eye-popping allegations, including that the dispute ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
Proposed New York Law Could Reshape Debt Negotiations Around the World
U.S. Bid to Challenge China’s Dominance of the Battery Metal Supply Chain in Africa Faces Two Key Hurdles
Widely perceived as a major and concrete U.S. move to counter China in the supply chain of critical minerals in Africa, the U.S.-DR Congo-Zambia MoU signed last December in Washington, D.C., will confront significant challenges, mainly for the DRC and Zambia. Both ...
Is the DRC Making Progress in Reshaping Its Controversial Chinese Deals? Maybe.
The Democratic Republic of Congo could be closer to overhauling two controversial Chinese deals. Finance Minister Nicolas Kazadi told Reuters the government is in active talks with Sicomines, a joint venture between the DRC’s state mining company Gécamines, and Sinohydro and China Railway Group, who were supposed to ...
Q&A: Why is Benin on Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang’s African Tour Itinerary?
The newly appointed head of Chinese diplomacy, Qin Gang, has begun his first African tour which will take him to five countries. A visit that is part of the long tradition of Chinese diplomacy to reserve the first overseas tour to the African continent. ...
Q&A: Why Provinces, Not the Government in Beijing, Are Becoming the New Force in China-Africa Trade
China's engagement in Africa in the modern era is undergoing an important transition as the central government in Beijing, once the exclusive driver of this relationship, is stepping back to cede more space to provincial, municipal, and other so-called "sub-national actors" to facilitate trade and pioneer new ...
Africa’s Dangerous Ignorance of China
Last week’s news was dominated by the publication, on Sunday, November 6, 2022, of part of the Kenyan SGR contract. It was far from the entire contract promised by the new Kenyan transport minister, but it was still a step towards transparency after years of ...