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.
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SCO Foreign Ministers Meet as Internal Rifts Deepen
The nine foreign ministers from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will meet this week in the Chinese coastal city of Tianjin. It's a bit hard to believe that this is a group that's almost 25 years old now, since it has few, if any, notable achievements.
Technicians install solar panels on the rooftop of a factory in Pakistan's port city of Karachi. (Photo by Asif HASSAN / AFP)
By Zain Zaman Janjua Pakistanis are increasingly ditching the national grid in favor of solar power, prompting a boom in rooftop panels and spooking a government weighed down by billions of dollars of power sector debt. The quiet energy ...
India’s Top Diplomat Returns to China for the First Time in Five Years
India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar arrived in China on Sunday, his first visit to the country in five years since violent clashes broke out along their disputed border in the Himalayas. Jaishankar is scheduled to meet with his Chinese counterpart ...
Chinese Surveillance Ship Intercepted by Philippines in Disputed Waters
The Philippine Coast Guard intercepted what appears to be a Chinese intelligence vessel on Saturday that was accompanied by a pair of PLA Navy escort ships that were operating within the Philippines' Exclusive Economic Zone. The presence of the Chinese spy ship
The Evolution of China-Africa Research and Where It’s Headed
A new generation of scholars is reshaping China-Africa research. More geographically diverse and digitally fluent than the field’s early pioneers of the 2000s, this cohort brings fresh perspectives and tools to the study of China’s engagement on the continent.
Emirates Launches New Service to Shenzhen, First New Route to China in Nearly a Decade
Emirates, the flagship carrier of the United Arab Emirates, last week began daily service between Dubai and Shenzhen, the southern Chinese technology hub. The route marks the airline’s first new destination in China in nearly a decade. Next month, Emirates is ...
The Key Question in Vietnam: Is “Made in China” the Same as “Made by China?”
Manufacturers in Vietnam are still digesting last week's announcement by the United States that the Southeast Asian country will be subject to a 20% tariff for all locally-made exports and a 40% duty on all transshipments, presumably from China. The problem, ...
Li Qiang’s Low-Key Diplomatic Schedule at the BRICS Summit
Chinese Premier Li Qiang maintained a relatively low profile at this weekend's BRICS summit in Brazil, where he avoided the usual "speed-dating style diplomacy" they engage in when attending these kinds of gatherings. Instead, Li met on Saturday with his ...
Why Was Xi a No Show at BRICS?
There's been a lot of speculation as to why Chinese President Xi Jinping opted to stay home from a BRICS summit for the first time and instead sent Chinese Premier Li Qiang in his place. Some suggested that it was because
Lessons for Europe From China’s Critical Minerals Strategy in Africa
While the U.S., India, and countries in the Persian Gulf are all moving quickly to establish new critical mineral supply chains, the European Union is struggling to follow suit, particularly in Africa. The EU currently lacks a cohesive policy framework that ...
What Next for China-Israel Ties After the Iran War
In the first few months of this year, it seemed that China's ties with Israel were on the mend after entering into a deep freeze following the October 7th terrorist attack by Hamas. China had begun to soften some of its ...
Top Chinese Party School Official Visits Nigeria as Part of the CPC’s Africa Outreach
A top official from the Chinese Communist Party's influential Central Party School visited Nigeria last week as part of a broader effort to deepen the CPC's ties in the region. Party School Vice President Gong Weibin met with Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe, head ...
Analysts Doubt Congo’s Cobalt Export Restrictions Will Do Much to Boost Prices in the Long Term
The Democratic Republic of the Congo extended a four-month export ban on cobalt exports in a bid to further constrain supply and boost prices of the critical metal that's used to manufacture electric vehicle batteries. The government hopes that by keeping additional ...
Standard Bank Becomes First African Bank to Offer China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System
China's alternative to the SWIFT international payment network is now available in Africa, following the announcement by Standard Bank, the continent's largest bank in terms of assets, as the first institution to offer the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS). This is ...