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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Jane Perlez on the New Era of U.S.-China Competition and Rivalry
The increasingly acrimonious U.S.-China relationship is the defining trend of this era, upending global politics, economics, and security, especially across the Global South. Countries that have worked hard to avoid having to pick sides in this new competition may no longer ...
China’s Outsized Role in West Africa’s Illegal Resource Trade
Every year, illegal mining, fishing, and logging drain billions of dollars from West Africa's economies as the problem persists largely unchecked, with Chinese actors playing an outsized role. Fueled by chronic corruption among local regulators across the region and seemingly insatiable demand ...
What Makes China’s Foreign Aid Different
Soon after USAID was closed in February, speculation circulated that China would move quickly to fill the void left by the United States. That did not happen. While the Chinese did step in to provide ...
Alibaba Founder Jack Ma Makes Surprise Appearance in Rwanda
Jack Ma, the legendary Chinese tech mogul and founder of the e-commerce giant Alibaba, made a surprise appearance in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, on Saturday to attend the African Business Heroes awards, which he launched in the late 2010s. Ma was ...
China’s New Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Tours the Region
China's newly-appointed Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa (HoA), Hu Changchun, spent the past week visiting officials in Egypt, Eritrea, and Ethiopia as part of an introductory tour. Last month, Hu succeeded Beijing's first special envoy for the region, Xue Bing,
China Issues Forceful Defense of South Africa’s Membership in G20
The Chinese government issued a forceful endorsement of South Africa's membership in the G20, a move that will likely thwart the U.S. efforts to exclude the group's only African member state from next year's summit in Miami.
China’s Role in Africa’s Industrialization: Obstacle, Partner, or Both?
Africa’s industrialization push is colliding with the defining economic question of this era: how can any country or region climb the manufacturing value chain so long as China dominates industrial production of pretty much, well, everything?
The New Dilemma for Middle Powers Caught Between the U.S. and China
In this episode of the China Global South Podcast, Eric & Cobus unpack a major question facing middle powers everywhere: What happens when the global security architecture you relied on for decades no longer exists? Fresh from ...
Transsion, Africa’s Mobile Phone Powerhouse, Seeks Hong Kong Listing to Fuel Global Expansion
Shenzhen-based Transsion Holdings, the longtime dominant cell phone maker in Africa and other developing regions, filed an application last week with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange for a secondary listing. The company already trades on the tech-heavy Shanghai STAR market with ...
China Presses Its Global Security Vision in Africa With High-Level AU Briefing
The Chinese government is ramping up promotion of its Global Security Initiative to key stakeholders in Africa. Last week, the Foreign Ministry organized a briefing seminar on the GSI at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa for senior-level AU and UN officials.
Kidnapping of Chinese Road Builders in Nigeria Underscores Rising Security Fears
Reports are coming out from Western Nigeria that two Chinese nationals supervising the construction of a 130km road project near the border with Benin were kidnapped by bandits. The incident took place last Monday, but news of the attack only ...
China’s Aerial Confrontations With Japan and Philippines Stoke Regional Anxiety Amid U.S. Silence
Tensions surged over the weekend after two dangerous mid-air confrontations between Chinese and Japanese fighter jets and another with a Philippine aircraft over disputed territory in the South China Sea. Tokyo and Beijing on Monday sought to portray the other ...