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
Pepe Zhang on What to Expect This Year in China-Latin America Relations
China's two-way trade with countries in the Americas increased 8% last year to $486 billion, nearly twice the volume of what China does in Africa. South America is now a vital source of food, energy, and strategic minerals for China, ...
Chinese Scholars Reflect on Qin Gang’s First Africa Tour
There wasn't much media coverage or online discussion in China about Qin Gang's week-long visit to Africa that ended Sunday in Cairo, especially compared to previous years when the visit was widely touted on Party-controlled media outlets. Interest was probably diminished ...
India and China Both Send High-Level Delegations to Sri Lanka This Week to Discuss Debt Crisis
Two of Sri Lanka's largest bilateral creditors, China and India, are finally taking steps to engage Colombo after months of inaction in resolving the South Asian country's worsening debt crisis. The Chinese led the charge. Chen Zhou, vice minister of the ...
Sri Lanka Caught in the Middle of China and India’s Geopolitical Rivalry
BBC Economics Editor Ben Chu returned to Colombo recently to report on Sri Lanka's fraught position in the middle of India and China's increasingly bitter feud and what the implications are for the island's badly-needed debt restructuring process.
WEEK IN REVIEW: China Pushing for Free Trade Agreement With South America’s Mercosur Bloc
China is pushing for a free trade agreement with South America’s Mercosur bloc or any of its individual members (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.) The recent election in Brazil could be a game changer, with rumors that trade talks could be on the agenda of incoming President Lula ...
Hannah Ryder on What to Expect This Year in China-Africa Relations
Qin Gang is carrying on a 33-year-old tradition by making Africa the first official visit of the new year for China's foreign minister. Qin took office just two weeks ago and is new to African affairs, so this week's five-nation tour ...
China’s New FM Greeted as Old Friend in Ethiopia on First Stop of Africa Tour
Qin Gang landed in Addis Ababa early Tuesday morning to kick off his first tour of Africa as China's new Foreign Minister. Qin spent the morning with his Ethiopian counterpart Demeke Mekonnen at the foreign ministry, where the two later hosted a joint ...
Chinese and Bangladeshi FMs Have a (Very) Early Morning Stopover Meeting in Dhaka
Bangladeshi Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen headed to the airport early Tuesday morning to greet his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang at 02:00 while his plane refueled in Dhaka on its way to Ethiopia. The pair went to the VIP lounge for ...
3 Chinese Nationals Arrested in DRC For Allegedly Murdering a Compatriot
A trio of suspected Chinese "bandits" were made to pose in front of a stash of weapons and cash seized by military authorities in the southern DRC province of Lualaba. Authorities claim the three extorted the money from a fellow Chinese ...
China’s Highly Selective Retribution Against Countries That Impose COVID Tests
The Chinese government on Tuesday stopped issuing short-term visas to travelers from South Korea and Japan in retaliation against COVID tests both countries imposed on Chinese visitors. The Chinese Foreign Ministry called the testing requirement for Chinese nationals "unacceptable" and "unscientific."
Islamic Scholars Tour Xinjiang as Part of China’s Efforts to Refute “Western Lies”
A group of 30 scholars from 14 Islamic countries is participating in a highly choreographed tour of China's western Xinjiang region as part of Beijing's latest efforts to push back against well-documented U.S. and European accusations of human rights violations there. ...
Q&A: What Should Qin Gang Know About Africa and What Africans Should Know About China’s New Foreign Minister?
Qin Gang did not have a lot of time to prepare for his current tour of Africa, his first as foreign minister. The five-nation, week-long trip comes less than two weeks after he started his new job, so he's no doubt getting up to speed as are ...