Author: Eric Olander

Eric Olander is the co-founder of the China Global South Project, an independent, non-partisan media initiative dedicated to exploring every facet of China’s engagement in Africa. Eric is a fluent Mandarin-speaker and a longtime China-watcher with more than 25 years of journalism experience at many of the world’s leading media companies, including CNN, the BBC, and FRANCE24, among others. He received his undergraduate degree in East African History from the University of California at Berkeley and holds a master’s degree in Chinese Public Affairs from the University of Hong Kong.

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It’s Already Too Late to Break China’s EV Battery Dominance

U.S., European, and Japanese leaders are all talking about the urgency of building new supply chains to end their reliance on China for critical minerals and batteries that will power next-generation mobility, technology, and weapons. It all sounds great and makes ...

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Vietnam Overtakes China and Mexico in U.S. Trade Surplus, Testing Washington’s Tariff Threats" style="width: 100%; height: auto;" />

Vietnam Overtakes China and Mexico in U.S. Trade Surplus, Testing Washington’s Tariff Threats

Vietnam may soon be back in the crosshairs of the Trump administration after it overtook both China and Mexico in January as the country with the largest trade surplus with the U.S. A 53% surge in Vietnam's exports to the ...
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Top Chinese Security and Diplomacy Chiefs Meet Vietnamese Counterparts in First-Ever Three-Minister Talks" style="width: 100%; height: auto;" />

Top Chinese Security and Diplomacy Chiefs Meet Vietnamese Counterparts in First-Ever Three-Minister Talks

The first-ever "3+3 Strategic Dialogue" between Chinese and Vietnamese foreign policy and security leaders began on Monday in the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, together with Defense Minister Dong Jun and Public Security Minister Wang Xiaohong, began three ...
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Chinese Analysts Say the Iran Conflict May Leave China Better Positioned Than the United States" style="width: 100%; height: auto;" />

Chinese Analysts Say the Iran Conflict May Leave China Better Positioned Than the United States

There was no media coverage in China on Monday about U.S. President Donald Trump's request that Beijing contribute military forces to a coalition to force Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. This is not unusual, as it often takes a day or two for the government ...
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3 Reasons China Will Ignore Donald Trump’s Demand to Contribute Forces to Re-Open Strait of Hormuz" style="width: 100%; height: auto;" />

3 Reasons China Will Ignore Donald Trump’s Demand to Contribute Forces to Re-Open Strait of Hormuz

President Donald Trump on Sunday called on China and several European nations to join a U.S.-led military coalition aimed at forcing Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway that carries roughly a fifth of the world’s oil supply. ...

Analysis

China’s Fuel Export Ban to Further Tighten Asia Supply

China’s Fuel Export Ban to Further Tighten Asia Supply
Oil storage tanks at Tsing Yi port in Hong Kong on March 17, 2026. (Photo by Peter PARKS / AFP)
China's ban on exports of diesel, gasoline and jet fuel is poised to exacerbate fuel shortages and further boost prices for Asian industry and transportation buyers already grappling with tightening supplies caused by the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. Even before the ban, ...
by
Reuters
More Analysis...

It’s Already Too Late to Break China’s EV Battery Dominance

U.S., European, and Japanese leaders are all talking about the urgency of building new supply chains to end their reliance on China for critical minerals and batteries that will power next-generation mobility, technology, and weapons. It all sounds great and makes ...

Vietnam Overtakes China and Mexico in U.S. Trade Surplus, Testing Washington’s Tariff Threats

Vietnam may soon be back in the crosshairs of the Trump administration after it overtook both China and Mexico in January as the country with the largest trade surplus with the U.S. A 53% surge in Vietnam's exports to the ...

Top Chinese Security and Diplomacy Chiefs Meet Vietnamese Counterparts in First-Ever Three-Minister Talks

The first-ever "3+3 Strategic Dialogue" between Chinese and Vietnamese foreign policy and security leaders began on Monday in the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, together with Defense Minister Dong Jun and Public Security Minister Wang Xiaohong, began three ...

Chinese Analysts Say the Iran Conflict May Leave China Better Positioned Than the United States

There was no media coverage in China on Monday about U.S. President Donald Trump's request that Beijing contribute military forces to a coalition to force Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. This is not unusual, as it often takes a day or two for the government ...

Comparing U.S. and Chinese Aid Strategies in Africa

For decades, the United States was the dominant provider of aid and humanitarian assistance to African countries. That changed last year with the closure of USAID. Washington now says it wants to prioritize trade over aid and is pursuing a more ...

View From Beijing: Why China is Not Protecting Iran

Conservative media outlets and think tank analysts in the United States have sharply criticized China for what they say is Beijing’s failure to support its supposed “allies” in Venezuela and Iran. Their arguments have gained traction on X and other ...

Is China Building a New World Order?

China has launched a series of global governance and trade initiatives over the past decade that have sparked concern in U.S. and European capitals about whether Beijing is seeking to displace the Western-led international order. The so-called "5Gs" include the ...

Oil Shock Tests China’s Gulf Dependence, but Beijing’s Diversified Energy Strategy May Blunt the Impact

There appears to be mounting concern but not outright panic over the surge of oil prices on Monday, brought on by the war between the U.S./Israel, and Iran. Oil prices opened the week above $100 a barrel for the first time in four years in response to ...

China Seeks Iran Deal for Tanker Passage Through Closed Strait of Hormuz

China is reportedly in talks with Iran to negotiate safe passage for oil and gas tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, which is currently closed to most maritime traffic. Beijing is reportedly displeased with Tehran over the closure of the narrow ...

China’s Wang Yi Criticizes U.S. and Defends Multilateral Order at Annual Press Briefing

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi forcefully denounced the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran, saying the conflict “should never have happened.” Wang restated Beijing's call for a ceasefire and renewed his offer to help mediate an end to the conflict. Wang, ...

BRICS Faces a Test as China and India Offer Starkly Different Responses to War

In the space of 24 hours, between Sunday and Monday, the foreign ministers from both China and India laid out their respective governments’ positions on the escalating war in the Middle East. In Beijing, China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, was unsparing ...

China Says Opposes Any Targeting of New Iran Leader

China said Monday that Iran's decision to name Mojtaba Khamenei as its new supreme leader following the killing of his father was a domestic matter, and it opposed any attempt to target him. Israel's military has threatened to target any successor ...
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