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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The Story of One Man’s Journey From Hunan Province to Driving Trucks in the Republic of Congo
Even though hundreds of thousands of Chinese nationals now live in countries across Africa, very little is known about the personal stories of these individuals who've often taken significant risks to set up new lives far from home. From time to time, though, profiles of these migrants ...
Week in Review: Ore, Oil & Oranges
China's major oil suppliers in Africa and the Middle East are bracing for a downturn in prices after Beijing ordered the country's largest refiner, Sinopec, to scale back operations. Sinopec will reportedly reduce refining of road and aviation fuels by up to 10% in response to the slowdown ...
Zambians Go to the Polls in a Tight Presidential Election with No China-Bashing, For Once
Ballots are now being counted in Zambia's general election that took place on Thursday. Presidential incumbent Edgar Lungu faces opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema in a contest that has been too close to call for weeks. While Zambia's beleaguered economy and surging debt ...
Assessing the Impact of Anti-China Sentiment in the Global South
In many countries in Africa, Asia, and throughout the Global South there's often a large discrepancy between perceptions of China in civil society and among governing elites. This phenomenon has been on full display recently in the Democratic Republic of the ...
Temporary Closure of China’s Ningbo Port Will Only Add to African Traders’ Headaches
Container ships are stacking up off the coast of eastern China today after authorities closed the massive Ningbo-Zhoushan port following the confirmation that several employees there tested positive for COVID-19. 28 vessels were idling ...
New Details on Rwanda’s Huge Dried Chili Deal With China
More information is emerging about the pioneering deal announced last week to open the Chinese market to Rwandan dried chili exporters. Rwandan agribusiness entrepreneur Dieudonné ‘Diego’ Twahirwa (photo) signed a contract with the food importer Chinese GK International Enterprises to ...
A Kenyan MP Reflects On What Achieving Real “Win-Win” Ties With China Will Take
With the triennial Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Summit coming up next month in Dakar, there's growing public discussion about how African stakeholders can achieve a more equitable arrangement with China. There's a sense in many quarters, that two decades into China's ...
Report: Human Rights Abuses Cloud China’s Investment Push in The Global South
The steadily growing presence of Chinese companies in developing countries has been accompanied by an increase in social, environmental, and human rights violations that threaten Beijing's ambitions to become a "responsible great power," according to the findings in a new report published Tuesday by ...
Chinese Diplomats in Africa Are Increasingly Using Their Twitter Accounts to Amplify Anti-U.S. Propaganda
Ambassador Chen Xiaodong in Pretoria is among China's most senior and high-profile diplomats in Africa. Like many of his peers across the continent, he's turning to Twitter to relay anti-U.S. propaganda produced by Chinese state media. On Tuesday, ...
Chinese Expats in Ghana Are Getting Lured Into Currency Exchange Scams on WeChat
Scammers in China are now targeting overseas Chinese in Ghana through currency exchange scams on WeChat. Swapping currencies on WeChat is a common practice for Chinese expatriates in Africa. Here's how it works: 1) The scammers ...
An Update on the Current State of China-Zimbabwe Economic Relations
China's ties with Zimbabwe are either going off the rails or are among the strongest most dynamic in Africa depending on who you listen to. Mounting civil society anger towards Chinese companies and their apparent disregard for local labor and environmental ...
TRANSLATION: Nuclear Power Not a Viable Energy Option in Africa Say Trio of Chinese Experts
Africa's energy needs are enormous, especially as countries across the continent are moving quickly to build power-hungry industrial sectors. While the need for abundant clean energy is clearly there, some, led by Russian vendors, have proposed that nuclear energy may be the right solution.