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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WEEK IN REVIEW: First Shipment of Australian Coal in Two Years Will Soon Be Offloaded in China
The first shipment of Australian coal in two years will soon be offloaded in China, offering evidence that trade ties between the two countries are thawing. The shipment is anchored off the Chinese port of Zhanjiang, a major steel hub. China imposed a block on trade with Australia ...
China Sends Personnel, Aid to Assist With Quake Recovery in Türkiye
China announced a series of measures to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to Türkiye and Syria in response to Tuesday's devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake that killed at least 8,000 people. Beijing is still a relatively new actor in being able to provide rapid response ...
Paris Club Calls Out China Over Sri Lankan Debt Relief
The Paris Club of wealthy creditor states turned up the pressure on China to resolve the current impasse that's blocking debt relief for Sri Lanka and other developing countries. “The Paris Club members as well as Hungary and Saudi Arabia urged other official ...
Chinese Tourist Flight Given Hero’s Welcome in Cambodia
In a sign of how eager Southeast Asian countries are to welcome back Chinese visitors, the first flight from China since outbound travel resumed was given a ceremonial welcome when it landed on Tuesday in the Cambodian capital Phenom Penh. Cambodia ...
Africa is Now a VERY Popular Destination For Western Ministers and High-Ranking Diplomats
For years, China was largely alone in regularly dispatching its foreign ministers and high-ranking diplomats to tour Africa. That is no longer the case as U.S., European and Russian diplomats are fanning out across the continent faster than they have in years. ...
South Africa Turned Down Invitation for Join Naval Exercises With U.S., Choosing Russia and China Instead
South Africa is apparently not interested in conducting joint naval exercises with the United States, opting instead to proceed with controversial exercises later this month with both Russia and China. U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Chase Patrick, Director, Maritime Headquarters, U.S. Naval ...
How the U.S. Aims to Compete With China in Critical Resource Mining
U.S. officials are speaking out about the urgency to diversify supply chains for critical resources that are now largely dependent on China, particularly rare earths, cobalt, and lithium that are all essential ingredients in manufacturing electric vehicle batteries. ...
Germany’s Finance Minister Singles Out China in Debt Relief Appeal for Ghana
German Finance Minister Christian Lindner is the latest high-ranking Western official to pressure China to do more to help relieve the burgeoning debt crisis in a growing number of African countries. "I remind China of its responsibilities as a very important ...
How Much Ghana Owes China Depends on Who You Ask
At first glance, Ghana doesn't owe China that much when measured against its outstanding debts to both multilateral development banks like the IMF and the World Bank and, more importantly, bondholders. $1.7 billion in the context of what other developing countries owe Chinese ...
China is Pushing For a Major Change in Global South Debt Restructuring
The Chinese government provided its first official confirmation that it will provide Sri Lanka with a two-year debt repayment moratorium on $2.83 billion of loans owed to The China Exim Bank. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning's statement on Friday was intended, in part, ...
China-IMF Impasse in Sri Lanka “Has to be Broken, One Way or Another,” Says Debt Expert
Brad Setser, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a noted sovereign debt expert, wrote a brief analysis of why the China Exim Bank's offer of a two-year debt moratorium is "insufficient". (The following transcript has been lightly ...
The Role of Chinese Solar Technology in Africa’s Just Energy Transition
China is by far the world's dominant producer of solar power technology which is becoming increasingly popular in places like Africa that are under mounting pressure to transition from reliance on fossil fuels to new, greener renewable sources of energy.