Author: Eric Olander
Eric Olander is the co-founder of the China Global South Project (CAP), 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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Is China Building a New Military Base in Cambodia? Maybe. Probably.
Chinese contractors have been renovating the Ream Naval Base in Cambodia for the past two years, leading to widespread suspicion that the upgraded facility could eventually serve as a future outpost for the PLA Navy in Southeast Asia. ...
Chinese Company in West Africa Turns Nigeria’s Political Dysfunction Into a Controversial Marketing Campaign
A Chinese wholesale company in Nigeria sparked widespread controversy with its new ad that leverages the West African country's political dysfunction to promote its services. The ad opens with a news clip of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu telling viewers that he "feels ...
China, Ethiopia Police Sign Pact to Foster Closer Security Ties
Senior law enforcement officials from Ethiopia and China signed an agreement on Friday to work more closely together on training and information sharing. The officials also discussed the creation of a new Ethiopia-China Law Enforcement Cooperation Center in Addis Ababa. The talks ...
Japan PM Expresses Concern to Xi Over South China Sea Situation
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba expressed “serious concerns” over the situation in the South China Sea to Chinese President Xi Jinping in their first in-person talks, Tokyo’s foreign ministry said Saturday. Relations between Japan and China have worsened as Beijing builds ...
Xi Arrives in Brazil Looking to Benefit From Mounting Anxiety About the U.S.
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Rio de Janeiro ahead of the G20 summit that begins on Monday, followed by a state visit with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. In advance of his arrival on Sunday, Xi wrote a lengthy ...
WEEK IN REVIEW: India, China Patrol Disputed Areas Post-Deal
China firmly rejected the Philippines' maritime claims in the South China Sea on Sunday, posting new territorial boundaries that include the contested Scarborough Shoal. The Foreign Ministry's announcement came two days after President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. signed two laws demarcating Manila's maritime claims. (REUTERS)
Chinese Lending to Africa is Way More Complicated Than You Think
It's widely believed that Chinese lending to African countries is predominantly done by a few state policy banks, such as the China Exim Bank and the China Development Bank. While that was true in the past, today the situation is far ...
What’s on WeChat: Stop Misleading People About What It’s Like For Chinese Entrepreneurs in Africa
A post by longtime Africa WeChat commentator Xiao Nie (小聂说事儿) is sparking a lot of discussion in Chinese development circles about the current conditions facing Chinese expatriates in Africa. Xiao Nie is well-known for his blunt "tell it like it is" writing style, which he's picked up ...
Gauging the Impact of a Second Trump Presidency on U.S.-China Relations in the Middle East
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has already indicated that the Middle East is going to be a central focus of his second term's foreign policy. He's already named Elise Stefanik, a fiercely pro-Israel lawmaker, to be his ambassador at the United Nations ...
Angola’s Big Bet on Biden Now Risks Backfiring
Pity poor Angola. President João Lourenço placed a multimillion-dollar bet on hiring expensive Washington, D.C. lobbying firms to put his southern African country on the U.S. agenda. Whatever they did worked because, over the past several years, Angola seemingly became the ...
Ambassador Urges Ghanaian Media to Improve Coverage of Chinese Expatriate Community
China's new ambassador to Ghana, Tong Defa, urged local media to avoid simplistic reporting about the Chinese community and called on reporters to resist taking the actions of a few to represent all Chinese in the country. In a visit ...
Even CMOC is Now Worried About the Rock Bottom Price of Cobalt
For much of the past two years, Chinese mining giant CMOC Group Ltd. has been producing vast quantities of cobalt from its enormous mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The company's producing so much of the blue metal that it ...