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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China was among the first and most vocal opponents of the U.S. military intervention in Venezuela and the abduction of President Nicolas Maduro. Curiously, though, when U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to launch military strikes against Iran as Tehran dealt with ...
Kenya Secures Duty-Free Access to China. Its Farmers May Still Struggle to Cash In
There's been a lot of discussion in Kenya over the weekend about how the country can best take advantage of a preliminary trade agreement signed late last week that grants 98.2% of Kenyan exports duty-free access to the Chinese market.
Why U.S. Pressure on Iran May Matter Less to China Than Washington Thinks
U.S. President Donald Trump's mounting pressure on both Venezuela and Iran is primarily targeted at the governments in both countries, but a clear secondary priority is to put more pressure on China. Both Iran and Venezuela have longstanding ties with China ...
China’s Belt and Road Roars Back, Defying Predictions of a Smaller, Quieter Era
Just a few of years ago, Chinese authorities signaled that the days of massive spending on Belt and Road Initiative projects were over and that a new, more austere era, known as "small yet beautiful" (小而美), would become the norm. New ...
What Did Wang Yi Accomplish on His Low-Key Africa Tour?
While global attention was fixed on the fallout from U.S. intervention in Venezuela and rising tensions between Washington and Tehran, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi quietly toured three African countries in a notably low-profile visit. ...
Why Wang Yi Chose Somalia, Ethiopia, Tanzania & Lesotho for His 2026 Africa Tour
China's Wang Yi kicked off a four-nation, week-long Africa tour this week, marking a signature tradition for Beijing: making the continent the foreign minister's first overseas trip of the new year. Wang visited Ethiopia and ...
Is the Crisis in Venezuela a “Setback” for China? Eric Olander on Sinica with Kaiser Kuo
In this special bonus episode, Eric speaks with Kaiser Kuo, host of the popular Sinica Podcast, about China's response to the U.S. military intervention in Venezuela and the capture of President Nicolas Maduro. Many U.S. ...
Accused Scam Boss Chen Zhi Arrested in Cambodia, Extradited to China: Phnom Penh
Chinese-born tycoon Chen Zhi, who was indicted by the United States on fraud and money-laundering charges for running a multibillion-dollar cyberscam network from Cambodia, has been arrested there and extradited to China, Phnom Penh said Wednesday. Chen allegedly directed operations of ...
What Maduro’s Detention Means for China
One of the prevailing narratives that's emerged following the U.S. military intervention in Venezuela and the detention of President Nicolás Maduro is that this is a major setback for China. Some analysts have called it a "strategic failure" on Beijing's part, ...
China’s Border Robot Highlights Industrial and Tech Edge Over India
A video recently went viral on YouTube showing a lone Chinese robot standing guard at a remote border post in Tibet. Captured by Indian troops along the western section of the China-India Line of Actual Control (LAC), the footage was intended to showcase India’s high-ground advantage. Instead, ...
U.S., European, China Analysts Weigh What the Capture of Maduro Signals for Beijing
The U.S. military intervention in Venezuela and the capture of President Nicolás Maduro on Friday prompted a lively discussion online among many of the leading China analysts in the U.S. and Europe over how Beijing might respond. Below are highlights from ...
Ryan Hass on Why U.S. Intervention in Venezuela Won’t Impact China’s Plans for Taiwan
Ryan Hass, director of the John L. Thorton China Center at the Brookings Institution, is one of the most influential China analysts in Washington. Shortly after the U.S. military intervention in Venezuela, Hass wrote a preliminary analysis on X of how he ...