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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U.S. Wants China Out of Latin America. Is that Even Possible?
The Panamanian government formally took over the two ports operated by Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison this week at both ends of the Panama Canal. U.S. officials celebrated the move as part of their larger effort to expel China from the Western ...
Photos by BAY ISMOYO / AFP
In 2025, China remained a top-three source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Southeast Asia, following only the U.S. and intra-Southeast Asian flows. While much of the investment falls under the umbrella of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), it is important to distinguish between broad private investment and state-led ...
Latin America Split Over How to Counter China’s Steel Surge
Argentina terminated anti-dumping duties on Chinese aluminum foil, removing trade barriers that had restricted shipments from China and reopening the market to Chinese producers. The move marks a notable shift in South America’s trade posture toward Chinese industrial exports, even as ...
China Highlights Tracking of U.S. Military Movements Near Iran
People’s Liberation Army-linked analysts and social media accounts have publicized satellite imagery and flight-tracking data purporting to show U.S. military aircraft and naval movements near Iran, raising questions about whether Beijing is signaling its intelligence reach. The reports, amplified by Chinese commentators ...
Angola Turns to China for $4.8 Billion Refinery Loan
Angola’s state oil company, Sonangol, is seeking a $4.8 billion loan from Chinese lenders to finance the long-delayed Lobito refinery, reinforcing Luanda’s continued reliance on Beijing for large-scale energy infrastructure funding. The project aims to reduce Angola’s dependence on imported fuel ...
EU Lawmakers Question Global Gateway’s Africa Spending as China Comparison Intensifies
The EU's answer to China's Belt and Road Initiative is facing new scrutiny from lawmakers at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. Global Gateway (GG), a program launched in 2021 to finance infrastructure in developing countries, was the focus of a new ...
Chinese Think Tank Calls Myanmar Vote a ‘Fake Election’ but Sees Strategic Gains for Beijing
In a rare blunt assessment, an analysis from China’s prominent state-backed think tank, The Institute for International Affairs in Qianhai, a district of Shenzhen in southern China, denounced Myanmar’s general election under military rule last month, saying the process lacked legitimacy and would do nothing ...
Chinese Commentator’s Defense of Missile Sale to Iran on Russian TV Lends Credence to Report
While the Chinese government has not officially commented on the reported sale of supersonic anti-ship missiles to Iran, one of China's most outspoken media provocateurs appeared on Russian state television on Tuesday to defend the move. Victor Gao, vice president of ...
China Close to Deal Selling Supersonic Anti-Ship Missiles to Iran
After two years of negotiations, Iran is close to finalizing a deal with China to buy supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles, according to Reuters. Reuters cited six sources who confirmed that Iran is poised to acquire Chinese-made CM-302 missiles, nicknamed "Carrier-Killers," that are ...
How a Little-Known Chinese Company Conquered Africa’s Cell Phone Market
Shenzhen-based Transsion Holdings is now a massive Chinese technology company that few people outside of Africa and certain parts of Asia have heard of. Even in China, the brand, now the world's 5th-largest mobile phone producer, remains largely unknown.
Why Africa is Now a Key Front in the U.S.-China Rivalry
Donald Trump has never thought very highly of Africa, famously referring to the continent as a place of "sh**hole countries." While there's no indication that sentiment has changed, he's recognized that African resources are essential if he wants the U.S. to ...
U.S. and China Take Divergent Paths in the New West Asia
The United States and China are pursuing sharply different strategies in a region that is no longer best understood as the "Middle East," but as part of a broader Asian-centered geopolitical system historically described as "West Asia."
China’s Expanding Military Engagement Across Africa
China is rapidly expanding its military engagement with African countries through a combination of joint exercises, growing arms sales, officer training programs, and deeper security cooperation under its Global Security Initiative. This widening footprint is ...
China Balances Israel Outreach With Assurances to Palestinians
China's Special Envoy for the Middle East, Zhai Jun, met on Tuesday with the Palestinian Authority's ambassador to Beijing, Jawad Mohammed Qutish Awad, for a briefing on the current situation in the West Bank and Gaza. Specific details of their discussion were ...