Author: Cobus van Staden
Dr. Cobus van Staden is an accomplished scholar, journalist, and think tank analyst with more than 20 years of experience in Africa and Asia. Previously, he was the senior China-Africa researcher at the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) in Johannesburg. Cobus completed his Ph.D. in Japanese studies and media studies at the University of Nagoya in Japan in 2008. He focused on comparisons of Chinese and Japanese public diplomacy in Africa during postdoctoral positions at the University of Stellenbosch and the SARCHI Chair on African Diplomacy and Foreign Policy at the University of Johannesburg before joining the Department of Media Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand in 2013. His academic research focused on media coverage of the China-Africa and Japan-Africa relationships, as well as the use of media in public diplomacy in the Global South.
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Joint Battlefield Training to Raise Pressure in South China Sea
The U.S. military will reportedly introduce joint combat training with the Philippines in June. Major General Marcus Evans, commander of the U.S. 25th Infantry Division, told the Associated Press that the training would increase the Philippine army’s ability to fight in challenging jungle conditions.
Vietnamese Leader Pursues Infrastructure, Energy Cooperation in China
The chairperson of Vietnam’s National Assembly, Vương Đình Huệ, continued his official visit to Beijing by meeting with executives from transport and energy companies. The meetings revealed the close political and infrastructure links between the countries. For example, in a meeting ...
Could India Outgrow China During This Decade?
While India’s $3.5 trillion economy is still overshadowed by China’s $17.8 trillion giant, it could equal its neighbor in purchasing power parity by the end of the decade, according to calculations by Bloomberg. However, this would depend on boosting infrastructure and skills, setting up more factories, and ...
China-Africa Think Tank Forum Gives a Peek of Increasingly Shared Messaging
The run-up to the triennial Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) is traditionally a moment when new Africa-China rhetoric is road-tested. The regular China-Africa Think Tank Forum is one of those testing grounds, where researchers, many of whom directly advise governments, sit down to articulate the relationship anew. ...
Chinese Megaprojects in Southeast Asia Face Implementation Shortfall: Report
While China remains Southeast Asia’s largest infrastructure provider, major gaps are emerging between pledges and actual delivery, according to a new report by Australia’s Lowy Institute. The report found a $52 billion difference between planned and implemented projects, “with more than ...
Leaders from Recipient Countries Weigh In on BRI: Report
The future of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is preoccupying China watchers around the world. However, the debate frequently leaves out the most important stakeholders: leaders from recipient countries. A new report from AidData polled leaders and senior officials from ...
Ten Dead in Attack on Chinese-Built Port in Pakistan
Pakistani security forces foiled an attack on Gwadar Port, a key Belt and Road Initiative project. Armed militants detonated several bombs around the port complex before opening fire. All eight attackers and two soldiers were killed in fights with security forces.
Does China Own the Future?
The FT columnist Gillian Tett argued this week that global markets are revealing an interesting paradox: on the one, hand, rising stock prices show that investors are feeling somewhat more optimistic about the future. On the other, gold and bitcoin (both seen as hedges against losses and volatility) ...
The Overwhelming 2024-Ness of It All
In so many ways, 2024 feels like an inflection point — one of those years that carries within it a future yet unformed. The U.S. election is of course the most prominent of these trends. If Donald Trump becomes the Rublican ...
Misadventures in the Skin Trade
This week I spent a few days in Cape Town, in time for a minor, if telling, crisis in international agricultural trade. A ship crammed with 19,000 (mostly still living) cows was stuck in Cape Town harbor, en route from Brazil to the Middle East.
Chinese Demand for Kenyan Avocados Surged in 2023
Kenyan avocado exports to China jumped tenfold last year from 443 tons to 4,324 tons. But even with this booming demand from China, the European Union remains Kenya's largest export market for avocados. (BUSINESS DAILY)
Why the Africa-China Relationship Poses a Climate Challenge to Europe
Thinking about Africa in the context of the climate crisis makes for some cognitive dissonance. On the one hand, the continent’s massive potential for renewable energy, its stocks of critical minerals, and its storehouses of oil, gas, and coal make it a huge “ka-ching” in continental form. ...