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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TRANSLATION: Assessing the New Risks For Chinese Companies, Projects and Personnel in Post-Coup Guinea
The city of Shanghai's department of commerce posted a fascinating six-point analysis of the new risks confronting Chinese companies operating in Guinea following the recent overthrow of President Alpha Condé by a military junta. The post appeared on an official WeChat ...
Madagascar’s Military Will Soon Learn to Say 你好 (Hello)
Officials in Madagascar's Ministry of Defense will soon have the chance to study Mandarin thanks to a new program set up by the embassy's new military office in Antananarivo. The objective of the course is to facilitate "broader, smoother and sounder communication" between the two militaries.
Why Food Security & Agriculture Issues Need to Be Atop the China-Africa Agenda
A growing number of people in Africa are facing acute shortages of food due in part to disruptions brought on by COVID, climate change, and, in some countries, conflict. Solving the problem today is not going to be easy given how ...
Police Use Force to Disburse Anti-Chinese Protests in the Eastern DR Congo
Police fired tear gas on Monday to disperse hundreds of protestors demonstrating against a Chinese-owned gold mine in the small South Kivu town of Kitutu in the far eastern DR Congo province of South Kivu (map). The demonstrators are ...
The Documentary at the Center of Mounting Congolese Frustration Towards Chinese Mining Companies
One of the key factors behind the recent escalation in tensions between local residents in the eastern DRC and Chinese mining companies can be attributed to the widely-seen investigative television report by Cameroonian journalist Alain Foka. The provocatively ...
China’s Most Aggressive Foreign Ministry Spokesman Delicately Brushes Back Criticisms of Chinese Mining Companies in the DRC
The DR Congo government's move to review some of the multi-billion Chinese mining contracts surfaced as a topic on Monday at the Foreign Ministry's regular press briefing in Beijing where the often outspoken, sharp-tongued spokesman Zhao Lijian delicately addressed the issue.
Namibian Opposition Leader: “Chinese Must Respect Us”
Tensions between Chinese companies and local labor unions have been simmering all year and now it appears the issue is escalating into a charged political attack against the government for not doing enough to protect worker rights. "People are ...
Zimbabwe Now the Largest Recipient of Chinese Vaccines in Sub-Saharan Africa
With more than 10 million doses of vaccines delivered to date, Zimbabwe is now the largest recipient of Chinese-made vaccines in Sub-Saharan Africa and second only to Morocco (22.5 million) on the continent as a whole. Aside from the vaccine delivery ...
China Isn’t Just Shipping Vaccines to Zimbabwe, It’s Also Building Warehouses to Store Them
A new Twitter account popped up recently, intended to provide updates on a new China Aid-funded vaccine warehouse now under construction in the Zimbabwe capital Harare. You can follow the progress of the new warehouse on Twitter at
Pressure From the Government & IMF Mounting on Chinese Mining Companies in the DRC
DR Congo President Félix Tshisekedi is again turning up the pressure on Chinese mining companies with his drive to re-evaluate mining contracts that were negotiated under his predecessor's tenure. During a Council of Ministers meeting on Friday, ...
Hichilema Calls For Mining Policy Review But Stays Mum on the Chinese
Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema (photo) called for a review of the country's mining policies on Friday in his first address to parliament since he assumed office last month. But for now, he's not proposing a Congolese-style review of foreign ...
One of Those “Only in Djibouti” Days
Djibouti's Chief of the General Staff of the Armies, Lieutenant General Zakaria Cheikh Ibrahim (photo), had a very busy day last Thursday hosting senior naval commanders from both China and the United States for a series of meetings that can only happen in the strategically located country on ...