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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What Makes China’s Foreign Aid Different
Soon after USAID was closed in February, speculation circulated that China would move quickly to fill the void left by the United States. That did not happen. While the Chinese did step in to provide ...
Billboards advertising the popular Chinese-made mobile phones TECNO in Nairobi, Kenya. Image via Chihying.
By Gaia Guatri Lagos—At 7:30 a.m., the light rail hums above the gridlock, gliding through the haze of exhaust and early heat. Built by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) and financed through Chinese loans, the sleek blue carriages slice across a skyline in ...
Alibaba Founder Jack Ma Makes Surprise Appearance in Rwanda
Jack Ma, the legendary Chinese tech mogul and founder of the e-commerce giant Alibaba, made a surprise appearance in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, on Saturday to attend the African Business Heroes awards, which he launched in the late 2010s. Ma was ...
China’s New Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Tours the Region
China's newly-appointed Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa (HoA), Hu Changchun, spent the past week visiting officials in Egypt, Eritrea, and Ethiopia as part of an introductory tour. Last month, Hu succeeded Beijing's first special envoy for the region, Xue Bing,
China Issues Forceful Defense of South Africa’s Membership in G20
The Chinese government issued a forceful endorsement of South Africa's membership in the G20, a move that will likely thwart the U.S. efforts to exclude the group's only African member state from next year's summit in Miami.
China’s Role in Africa’s Industrialization: Obstacle, Partner, or Both?
Africa’s industrialization push is colliding with the defining economic question of this era: how can any country or region climb the manufacturing value chain so long as China dominates industrial production of pretty much, well, everything?
The New Dilemma for Middle Powers Caught Between the U.S. and China
In this episode of the China Global South Podcast, Eric & Cobus unpack a major question facing middle powers everywhere: What happens when the global security architecture you relied on for decades no longer exists? Fresh from ...
Transsion, Africa’s Mobile Phone Powerhouse, Seeks Hong Kong Listing to Fuel Global Expansion
Shenzhen-based Transsion Holdings, the longtime dominant cell phone maker in Africa and other developing regions, filed an application last week with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange for a secondary listing. The company already trades on the tech-heavy Shanghai STAR market with ...
China Presses Its Global Security Vision in Africa With High-Level AU Briefing
The Chinese government is ramping up promotion of its Global Security Initiative to key stakeholders in Africa. Last week, the Foreign Ministry organized a briefing seminar on the GSI at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa for senior-level AU and UN officials.
Kidnapping of Chinese Road Builders in Nigeria Underscores Rising Security Fears
Reports are coming out from Western Nigeria that two Chinese nationals supervising the construction of a 130km road project near the border with Benin were kidnapped by bandits. The incident took place last Monday, but news of the attack only ...
China’s Aerial Confrontations With Japan and Philippines Stoke Regional Anxiety Amid U.S. Silence
Tensions surged over the weekend after two dangerous mid-air confrontations between Chinese and Japanese fighter jets and another with a Philippine aircraft over disputed territory in the South China Sea. Tokyo and Beijing on Monday sought to portray the other ...
Why the U.S.-DRC Mining Deal is Bad News For China
The U.S. and the DR Congo signed a landmark deal on critical minerals during President Félix Tshisekedi's visit to the White House this week. The pact provides the U.S. with extraordinary access to the Congolese mining sector and is widely expected ...
Why the Myanmar Side of the China–Myanmar Railway Can’t Move Forward
In 2022, China opened a new railway between Dali and Baoshan in Yunnan. It was meant to be the first step of a much bigger vision: a rail line running across Myanmar to the deep-sea port of Kyaukpyu, giving China’s southwest a direct outlet to the Indian ...
China, Japan in Fresh Incident Around Disputed Islands
Japanese and Chinese vessels engaged in a fresh standoff around disputed islands on Tuesday, the two countries' coast guards said. Relations have been strained since Japan's new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested last month that her country could intervene militarily in ...