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-DR Congo Trade Up 97% Compared to Last Year
TWEET TRANSLATION: China-DRC trade totaled $7.76 billion in the first seven months of the year, up 97% year-on-year, and the Congolese side recorded a trade surplus of $4.75 billion. During this period, Chinese companies invested $198 million in the DR Congo.
Hunan Province’s Trade With BRI Countries Jumps 20%
Hunan province is now among the key hubs in China for African trade and increasingly it appears to be positioning itself as a larger BRI trading center. Hunan trade with BRI countries is up 20% year-on-year to $16.5 billion in the January-August period.
Chinese Propaganda Recruits CCP Allies in Kenya’s Ruling Party To Denounce U.S. Claims on COVID Origin
The Chinese Communist Party is turning to its friends in Kenya's ruling Jubilee Party to denounce the U.S.-led accusation that the COVID-19 virus originally leaked from a lab in Wuhan China. Last week, CCTV featured an interview with Jubilee's Secretary-General Raphael Tuju who blasted
China’s Ambassador to Uganda Wants to Show a Different Side of Chinese Labor Relations in Africa
China's recently-arrived ambassador to Uganda, Zhang Lizhong, travelled to the central city of Kapeeka on Sunday to visit factories in the Liaoshen Industrial Park in what appears to be an effort, in part, to convey an alternative narrative to the one that's become popular ...
China and the High Stakes Showdown in the DR Congo
Chinese mining bosses for years played the game as everyone else in the DR Congo. Money pretty much solved every problem. Need a permit? Pay some money. Get in trouble with the law? Pay some money. Under-counting cobalt reserves? Pay some money.
China-Global South Update: Wang Yi Brings Millions in Aid and Vaccines on Four-Nation Asia Tour
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi embarked on a four-nation week-long tour of Southeast Asia on Friday to bolster ties in critical ASEAN states. He will visit Vietnam, Cambodia, and Singapore, and will end the trip in South Korea. On the first ...
China’s Role in the Burgeoning Debt Challenge in Africa
The debt situation in Africa is changing very quickly as some countries race to negotiate urgent bailouts with the IMF while others are struggling to service their debts amid the ongoing pandemic. Pretty much every country across the continent is struggling ...
With Chinese Infrastructure Financing Drying Up in Africa, China’s Contractors Now Look to Europe
China's construction giants are knocking on the doors of development finance agencies in Europe in a bid to find new sources of funding for projects in Africa, according to a report in Global Trade Review. Until recently, Chinese ...
Egypt’s Al-Sisi Takes a Ride on New Chinese Train Linking to New Chinese-Built Administrative Capital
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi boarded a Chinese-made train on Wednesday for a glimpse of what the new electrified metro railway will be like when it ferries commuters to and from the country's new administrative capital that's now under construction by Chinese contractors outside of Cairo. ...
When Viewed in Context, Africa’s Trade With China is Very Small
Although China is by far Africa's largest bilateral trading partner with two-way trade this year on track to exceed last year's $187 billion. In the January-August period, according to Vice Commerce Minister Qian Keming, China-Africa trade is up 40.5% to $139.1 billion.
A Young Chinese Expat Reflects on What’s She Learned After Six Years of Living in Namibia
Chinese expatriate life in Africa is often seen as a mystery to outsiders due to the significant cultural and linguistic barriers that get in the way of closer ties. Like many immigrant populations around the world, Chinese residents in Africa often live in tight-knit communities that are ...
Kenyatta Urges African, Caribbean Leaders to “Wake Up” on COVID and Debt Issues
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta used his opening address at a virtual summit of African and Caribbean leaders on Wednesday to issue an urgent plea to fellow leaders that they have to "wake up" to the challenges presented by the pandemic and the worsening debt crisis ...