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Author: Eric Olander

Eric Olander is the co-founder of the China Global South Project (CAP), 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.

Kenya’s Latest Economic Data is a Warning to Other Developing Countries With Large Chinese Debts and Trade Deficits

Kenya’s National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) released grim new data this week that highlights the acute problems confronting developing countries with large Chinese trade deficits and debts, both of which increased substantially: TRADE: The country’s trade deficit with China

A Discussion With the Journalists Behind the BBC Documentary “Racism For Sale”

The BBC investigative unit Africa Eye turned a powerful spotlight last month on a multi-million dollar business in China that exploits people in developing regions, including young children in Africa, to produce so-called "blessing videos." ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

Great Changes Unseen in a Century (and Frequently Ignored Now)

Big things are happening in the world, but don’t expect me to tell you what they are. 

Like many South Africans, I’ve been a little distracted these days. The country’s notorious electricity situation has worsened to blackouts three times a day. People like me, whose work depends on internet access, migrate across the city every few hours to cafes and other workplaces that still have power. All the time, Johannesburg ...

Chinese Tech and Mining Companies Team Up to Build First 5G Connected Mine in Southern Africa

The South African subsidiary of Chinese mining giant Zijin will build southern Africa's first-ever 5G connected mine using Huawei technology. South Africa Zijin Platinum contracted with SA telco major MTN to build the Huawei network at the Limpopo mine in northern ...

Split Views in Africa Over China’s Push to Build Parliaments and Other Government Buildings Across the Continent

The imminent handover of the newly-built Zimbabwe parliament building that was almost entirely paid for by the Chinese government has prompted a lively debate online about China's so-called "Palace Diplomacy" in Africa. Opinions about the new hall in Harare ...

Why You Should Pay More Attention to China’s Global Development Initiative 

When President Xi Jinping announced China's Global Development Initiative (GDI) in September, the response among Western observers was muted.   Not so in China, where scholars see the GDI and its sibling, the Global Security Initiative, ...

Chinese Leaders Fan Out Across Asia, Africa For a Busy Week of Diplomacy

The past 4-5 days have been especially busy for Chinese diplomacy in Africa and Asia. This outreach included the first time that President Xi Jinping left Beijing since the pandemic began almost 900 days ago.  Although technically still within China, President Xi's visit to Hong ...

Why China Building a Small Power Plant in a Small Congolese Town is Such a Big Deal

A consortium of Chinese entrepreneurs based in Angola recently signed an agreement to build an electric power generation facility in the small Congolese city of Kenge, 269 kilometers west of the capital Kinshasa, according to Radio Okapi. Not ...

Almost Every Major Kenyan Newspaper Published Column by Chinese Ambassador That Refutes Debt Trap Accusation

An unusual phenomenon occurred in Kenya over the past few days: the country's normally competitive newspapers all ran the same column written by China's envoy to Nairobi, Zhou Pingjian. Normally, newspapers insist on exclusivity when publishing columns like this. While we have no proof, ...

The Chinese Internet Turned on Lu Ke, the Culprit in the BBC’s “Racism for Sale” Documentary

For years, the Chinese internet reflexively defended all compatriots against any charges of anti-Black discrimination or racism. "China and Chinese people DO NOT DISCRIMINATE. Period." was the line that came back against any accusation by foreigners of Chinese maltreatment of Black people in places like 

WEEK IN REVIEW: Iran Is the Second Country This Week, After Argentina, to Submit an Application to Join the BRICS Club

Iran is the second country this week, after Argentina, to submit an application to join the BRICS club. The BRICS group is increasingly seen by both Beijing and Moscow as a potential alternative to the Western-led international economic order. Although the BRICS states have agreed to expand their ...

Maybe The West’s Pressure on China to Build “High Quality” Infrastructure is Working

A Xinhua headline from Wednesday hints that years of criticism of low-quality Chinese-built infrastructure in developing countries may be having its desired effect. Chinese messaging on these issues used to focus on the speed of delivery or the ...

Fears of Chinese Predatory Lending in Central Asia

The Chairman of Kyrgyzstan's Council of Ministers, Akylbek Zhaparov, repeated debunked accusations on Wednesday that China seized strategic assets in both Pakistan and Sri Lanka when they couldn't afford to repay their debts. He warned that the same could happen in his Central Asian country ...
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