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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South Africa's zig-zagging response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine appears to be straightening out with President Cyril Ramaphosa increasingly aligned with China's stance on the issue. After initially condemning Moscow's incursion, South Africa's foreign ministry (DIRCO) denounced the Russian attack. But ...
China’s New Special Envoy to the Horn of Africa Winds Down Tour With a Pointed Message: “Countries are Fed Up With the West”
China's newly-appointed Special Envoy to the Horn of Africa (HoA), Xue Bing (photo), concluded the first portion of a week-long tour on Saturday with a stinging rebuke of U.S. and European-led diplomacy in the region. "Some countries in this area are fed up with the foreign intervention, the ...
China’s Mideast Special Envoy Meets With Arab League Secretary-General
While China's Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, Xue Bing, is on a tour of regional capitals, Beijing's other Special Envoy, Zhai Jun, is doing the same in the Middle East. Zhai (second to the right) ...
Chinese Commerce Ministry Official Dismisses WSJ Report that China Will Buy Saudi Oil Using RMB
A well-known Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) official in Beijing, Cheng Wang, dismissed the Wall Street Journal report that Saudi Arabia is considering the option of allowing China to purchase oil using yuan rather than U.S. dollars.
U.S. Generals Emphasize China in House Hearings on Africa and Middle East Defense
China played a central role in testimony from senior generals on U.S. defense postures in Africa and the Middle East late last week. General Kenneth McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command in the Middle East and General Stephen Townsend who oversees U.S. troops in ...
China Emerges as Key Issue in Somaliland President’s Visit to Washington, D.C.
The President of Somaliland, Muse Bihi Abdi, spent last week on Capitol Hill and speaking at Washington, D.C.'s conservative think tanks to make the case for the U.S. to extend diplomatic recognition to the breakaway region. Bihi received a ...
China, Europe and the Geopolitics of African Renewable Energy
Both China and the European Union have identified renewable energy as a key part of their engagement strategies with Africa. At FOCAC last year, the Chinese vowed to increase investment in solar, hydro, and other green technologies while the EU made ...
Experts and Analysts Not Terribly Concerned About the Prospect of China Using Yuan to Buy Saudi Oil
News that Chinese and Saudi Arabian officials are negotiating to use yuan instead of dollars to purchase oil sparked a surprisingly low-key reaction among political observers and market watchers. "While there has been some hyperventilating, the reaction is generally much less excited than it would ...
New Articles Promote “Chinese Democracy” to African Readers
Two new articles promoting the idea that the Chinese system represents an alternative form of democracy from that promoted by Western countries have appeared in the South African and Nigerian press this week. While they were apparently written by African journalists, they follow Chinese state talking points ...
China’s Policy Banks Stopped All Funding For Overseas Energy Projects Last Year
The once seemingly endless flow of Chinese money to fund energy projects throughout the Global South reached a milestone in 2021 when it dropped to zero, according to new research from Boston University's Global Development Policy Center. A ...
The Generals in Charge of U.S. Forces in the Middle East and Africa Are Becoming Increasingly Nervous About Chinese and Russian Influence
Two of the U.S.' top generals who oversee commands for American forces in Africa and the Middle East issued new warnings on Tuesday about the risks to U.S. interests posed by both China and Russia. Marine Corps General Kenneth McKenzie Jr., ...
China’s New Special Envoy For the Horn of Africa Lays Out His Agenda
China's newly-appointed Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa (HoA), Xue Bing, is currently touring the region to get up to speed on the key issues. Over the weekend, he met with Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki and then traveled to Addis Ababa for talks ...