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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China and the Hidden Politics of Global Aid
The development finance industry would like us to believe that money for infrastructure, education, and other needs goes to where it's needed most. The reality, though, isn't that simple. Politics, it turns out, plays a much more important role than many ...
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China, Surveillance, and Africa’s Digital Transformation
China is the indispensable actor in Africa's tech ecosystem. From Huawei’s telecom infrastructure to Transsion’s dominant smartphone brands and Hikvision’s surveillance systems, Chinese technologies are now deeply embedded across the continent, often holding leading market share in their sectors.
Awkward China-Africa Conversations in Washington, D.C.
Conversations on China, Africa, and global power at the heart of the American policy establishment are increasingly shaped by insular narratives. What emerges is a portrait of a U.S. policy ecosystem struggling to reconcile its ambitions with shifting global dynamics. From ...
A 2015 Speech for a 2026 Crisis
Former U.S. ambassador to China, Nicholas Burns, on Saturday delivered the opening address at the Harvard College China Forum, where he presented the case for deeper engagement between the two major powers. The speech would have been great if it were ...
China’s Top-Selling EV Heads to South Africa, Challenging Toyota’s Hybrid Dominance
China's best-selling car will soon arrive in the South African market, part of a wave of new models entering the country that are rapidly chipping away at Toyota's dominance of the hybrid segment, in particular. The Geely EX2 is expected ...
An aerial view of Qilianyu islands in the Paracel chain, which China considers part of Hainan province on August 10, 2018. (Photo by CN-STR / AFP) / CHINA OUT
After nearly a decade-long hiatus, China in October quietly resumed artificial island construction in the South China Sea, according to commercial satellite imagery. Rather than focusing on the Spratly Islands, where Beijing already has de facto control over seven maritime features with airbases on three of them, it has turned to ...
China and the Hidden Politics of Global Aid
The development finance industry would like us to believe that money for infrastructure, education, and other needs goes to where it's needed most. The reality, though, isn't that simple. Politics, it turns out, plays a much more important role than many ...
China, Surveillance, and Africa’s Digital Transformation
China is the indispensable actor in Africa's tech ecosystem. From Huawei’s telecom infrastructure to Transsion’s dominant smartphone brands and Hikvision’s surveillance systems, Chinese technologies are now deeply embedded across the continent, often holding leading market share in their sectors.
Awkward China-Africa Conversations in Washington, D.C.
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China’s Top-Selling EV Heads to South Africa, Challenging Toyota’s Hybrid Dominance
China's best-selling car will soon arrive in the South African market, part of a wave of new models entering the country that are rapidly chipping away at Toyota's dominance of the hybrid segment, in particular. The Geely EX2 is expected ...
Chinese Automakers Surpass German Brands in the Mexican Market
Sales of Chinese-made cars in Mexico jumped more than 25% in the first quarter of the year, surpassing German brands for the first time, according to data from the research firm INEGI. Geely and Jetour Soueast were the strongest performers in ...
With Iran War Disrupting Gulf Stability, Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Heads to Beijing
Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, crown prince of Abu Dhabi, landed in the Chinese capital on Sunday for a three-day official visit. Specific details of his agenda have not been released, but it's fair to say this is ...
Trump Warns China on Iran Arms, Then Casts Doubt, Signaling Balancing Act Before Xi Summit
U.S. President Donald Trump sent conflicting signals over the weekend in response to China's reported plan to send weapons to Iran, including air defense systems. “If China does that, China is gonna have big problems,” Trump told reporters on
China, Russia Align on Iran War Ahead of Crucial UN Vote This Week
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke by phone on Sunday with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov to coordinate their positions on the ongoing Iran war ahead of a crucial vote at the UN on a Bahraini resolution to protect commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz. ...
Experts Say China Is Studying U.S. Power in Iran War and Its Limits
There's been a lot of speculation in U.S. and European policy analysis circles over what lessons China is taking away from the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. The debate largely divides along two broad categories. On one side, popular in Washington, D.C., ...
China Edges Past U.S. in Global Approval as Confidence in Both Powers Remains Weak
China overtook the United States in global leadership approval for the first time in nearly two decades, according to new Gallup data, signaling a subtle but meaningful shift in international sentiment. The shift stems less from a surge in support for ...
Kenya Cuts Dollar Debt After Converting Chinese Loans to Yuan
The Kenyan government is moving quickly to diversify its debt portfolio to reduce its reliance on dollar-denominated loans, with the total amount of outstanding USD debt falling 8.5% year-on-year to just 53.2%, according to new National Treasury data. A big reason ...
U.S.–China Competition in Latin America: Ports, Power, and Politics
Long neglected by the United States, Latin America is now on the frontlines of the global contest with China. Washington's new National Security Strategy made it clear that the U.S. must remain the unrivaled hegemonic power in the Western Hemisphere, something ...