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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Brazil’s Lula Heads to China With a Ukraine Peace Proposal That’s Effectively Dead on Arrival
Brazilian President Luiz Inàcio Lula da Silva had hoped to arrive in Beijing on Tuesday with a plan to present to Chinese President Xi Jinping that would end the conflict in Ukraine. Lula dispatched a special envoy to Kyiv last week ...
How Important is China’s New Role as Mideast Mediator? Depends Who You Ask.
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Amid Twin Political and Economic Crises, Tunisia Turns on West and Announces Intent to Join BRICS
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African Leaders Push Back Against Western Media Narratives on China
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WEEK IN REVIEW: Chinese Surveillance Ship Docks in South Africa’s Durban Harbor
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Chinese State Media Propagated Fake News Story About U.S. Response to China-Brazil Currency Swap Deal
A unit of China's state-run CGTN television broadcaster repackaged misinformation about a purported U.S. response to China's currency exchange deal with Brazil and then shared it on social media, where it was re-posted by a Chinese ambassador in Africa. The original ...
China Battles Six Other Countries to Run UN Maritime Agency
China is standing off against six other countries, including Kenya, Türkiye and Panama to lead the London-based International Maritime Organization, a United Nations specialized agency. Panama was widely thought to be the front-runner until Finland and China submitted candidates right before ...
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Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim both wrapped up state visits to China last week and their discussions with President Xi Jinping revealed some fascinating linkages between contemporary Chinese foreign policy objectives and Beijing's historical ...




