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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China’s Xinjiang Messaging to the Global South in Action
Diplomats from African and Asian countries are currently on a Chinese government-organized tour of the Xinjiang region. Official Twitter accounts and the Chinese state press provide a glimpse of these diplomats' role in Chinese counter-messaging operations amid ongoing controversy over the mass incarceration of ...
China’s Volleyball Team Takes No Chances
If you were still wondering, after months of lockdowns, China isn't messing around when it comes to COVID-19 protocols. Case in point: the Chinese national women's volleyball team competed in a game against Iran at the Asian Games in the Philippines ...
Japan Pledges $30 billion in Funding at Africa Summit
Japan will extend $30 billion in funding to aid African development. This is the major outcome of the eighth Tokyo International Conference on African Development, which took place in Tunisia this weekend. Speaking virtually, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged funding across several cooperation ...
China Hits Back at TICAD 8
Japanese officials may have tried to downplay their rivalry with China in Africa, but the response from Beijing put the inflamed relationship between the countries front and center. China’s state-owned Global Times sharply criticized the commitments announced at the TICAD 8 meeting in ...
African Development Bank Collaboration Reveals Overlaps Between Japan’s and China’s Goals
A key announcement at TICAD 8 was that Japan will provide $5 billion to the African Development Bank (AfDB) under the fifth phase of the Enhanced Private Sector Assistance for Africa initiative (EPSA) from 2023 to 2025. EPSA is a Japan-led multi-donor platform to ...
How Do TICAD and FOCAC Differ?
While TICAD and the Forum for China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) hone in on similar areas of cooperation (training, connectivity, infrastructure), their approaches differ in important ways. This article by Peter Fabricius for the South African think tank the Institute for Security Studies lays ...
Questions About China’s Debt Writeoff
While the Chinese government hasn't yet released a full list of the zero-interest loans to poor countries, it will write off, that hasn't stopped some African governments from celebrating. Togo signaled cautious optimism, saying that the write-off will free up funds for ...
Happiness in Kenya as Avos Reach the Chinese Market
The first consignment of Kenyan avocados finally reached the Chinese market after years of hoop-jumping by Kenyan farmers. The delivery was officially handed over by Kenya's ambassador, Mary Muthoni, during a ceremony in Beijing. Reportedly the first boxes of the fruit have made ...
Huawei’s Solar Pivot Widely Promoted in Africa
As the Chinese technology giant Huawei finds its traditional internet business increasingly contained due to pressure in the Global North, it's pivoting towards green energy in the Global South. Huawei recently blanketed the African press with paid articles to announce a series of new green energy ...
How Effective are China’s Press Junkets for African Journalists? Pretty Effective.
As China opens back up after the pandemic, journalists are again being flown in from across the Global South for junkets - a key form of influence-building for Beijing. If you wondered whether these tours pay off in soft power, tweets like these from ...
IMF Visit Adds Pressure on China to Support Sri Lanka Debt Restructuring
A team from the International Monetary Fund is in Sri Lanka for the second time in three months to discuss debt restructuring amid calls for China to align itself with the country’s other creditors. Sri Lanka’s new President Ranil Wickremesinghe said: "We have ...
TICAD: Japan’s Quiet Challenge to China’s Development Role in Africa
27 and 28 August will see the eighth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) taking place in Tunisia. Japan’s TICAD predates China’s Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and set the template for the continent’s interaction with Asian economic superpowers. However, TICAD is ...