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.
Related Posts
Hunan’s Trade With Africa is Up 90% in 2023
The central Chinese province of Hunan has spent years positioning itself as an African trading hub, and according to the latest customs data, its efforts are now paying significant dividends. Trade between the province and African countries surged by 90% in ...
G7 Leaders Wrap Hiroshima Summit With a Get Tough Message for China
The leaders of the world's seven wealthiest industrial democracies closed their summit meeting in the Japanese city of Hiroshima on Saturday with a blunt message for China: stop causing trouble and play by the rules. The group of six Western countries and Japan ...
China Angry With Japan Over G7 Joint Statement, Labels Accusations as “Hype”
The Chinese government lodged a formal complaint to Japan over the wording of the G7 communiqué published over the weekend. Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Saturday that China felt it had been "attacked" and that a number of points ...
U.S. Conducting Due Diligence for Development of the Lobito Corridor in Southern Africa Where Chinese Interests Are Already Very Active
The United States government claims it has mobilized $30 billion so far through various public and private channels to build railways, data centers and other infrastructure initiatives in developing countries. The White House released an update on Friday of its ...
Papua New Guinea, Micronesia to Sign Agreement With U.S. as Pacific Island Countries Increasingly Take Sides in Great Power Rivalry
Pacific Island Countries (PIC) are the current focal point in the escalating competition for influence between the United States and China around the world. Both Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Micronesia signed defense agreements with the United States on Monday during ...
UBS Analyst Provides Upbeat Forecast on the Belt and Road, Challenging Skeptics Who’ve Already Written the BRI’s Obituary
If your media diet is predominantly from Western, Japanese or Indian sources, then it's quite likely you've seen one of the countless obituaries this year for China's Belt and Road Initiative. The narrative in articles like Foreign Policy's "China’s Belt ...
DRC President Tshisekedi Will Have a Lot to Say to Xi Jinping When They Meet This Week
The Chinese government confirmed that DR Congo President Félix Tshisekedi will embark on a five-day official state visit beginning Wednesday that will also include a meeting with Xi Jinping. Speculation about the President's trip intensified over the weekend after it was revealed ...
South-South Cooperation in Economically Perilous Times
For 70+ years, development economists have been touting the idea that if lesser developed countries trade and invest collaboratively, it would serve as a pathway out of poverty. But today, the notion of so-called South-South cooperation is facing unprecedented challenges as ...
WEEK IN REVIEW: Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang to Visit Australia in July
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang will visit Australia in July in the latest indication that tensions between the two countries are easing. In another sign of détente, Beijing is lifting many of the economic sanctions that it imposed on Australian agricultural and mining products for the past 2-3 ...
Central Asian Leaders Arrive in Northwestern China For First-Ever Summit With Xi Jinping
Final preparations are underway in the northwestern Chinese city of Xi'an for a high-profile two-day Central Asian summit that gets underway on Thursday hosted by President Xi Jinping and his counterparts from Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan. The gathering, known as the ...
Domestic U.S. Politics Undermine Washington’s Ability to Challenge China’s Influence in Asia-Pacific
U.S. President Joe Biden will leave for Japan on Wednesday to attend a G7 leaders summit in Hiroshima, but rather than continue on to Australia and what would have been a landmark visit to Papua New Guinea (PNG), he'll head straight back to Washington instead.
China’s Ambassador to Angola Promises President Continued Support for Infrastructure Development
Angolan President João Lourenço met with China's ambassador to Luanda, Gao Tong, on Monday for an update on the progress of several high-profile infrastructure projects that China is developing. Gao reassured the president that the new Luanda international airport, the Caculo-Cabaça hydroelectric facility, and ...