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.
Related Posts
Chinese COVID Vaccines Land in Tanzania and Uganda
A second batch of vaccines from China landed on the semi-autonomous Tanzanian island of Zanzibar over the weekend. The arrival of these vaccines marks a dramatic shift in Tanzanian policy. Prior to his death earlier this year, President ...
The U.S. Senate Wants to Know What Washington Needs to Do to Be Competitive in Africa
A United States Senate subcommittee convened a hearing last week to discuss what the U.S. needs to do to be more competitive in Africa in terms of both trade and investment. While the hearing was ostensibly not intended to focus on ...
China Promotes Its Poverty Alleviation Policies to African Diplomats
China's successful track record in eliminating extreme poverty over the past several decades is emerging as a potent soft power diplomacy initiative in its relations with African countries. China now regularly touts its poverty eradication efforts in its official propaganda
Josep Borrell’s Misguided Views on Chinese Vaccines in Africa
European Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell is really unhappy with how the bloc's member states have hoarded vaccines for themselves at the expense of developing countries in Africa and Latin America. On Friday he criticized the EU's contributions to those regions as "insufficient."
Week in Review: Shipping, Share Prices and Strikes
Islamic militants released two Mauritanians kidnapped earlier this month in Mali but there's no word on the three Chinese construction workers who were abducted in the same raid. The militants provided no explanation for Wednesday's release or any other information on the ...
China’s Role in Re-Energizing the South Sudan Peace Process
South Sudan marked its tenth anniversary this month as an independent country. Regrettably, though, after a decade of civil war and divided government that has left at least 400,000 people dead and displaced a third of the population, there isn't much ...
Moroccan Police Arrest Uyghur Activist at China’s Request
34-year old Uyghur activist Yidiresi Aishan is now in Moroccan police custody awaiting likely deportation to China after he was arrested earlier this week at Casablanca's international airport. Police say they were acting on an Interpol Red Notice, the international police group's most wanted list, based on a ...
Record EV Sales in China Pushes Up the Price of Cobalt and Other Battery Materials
Chinese car buyers are snapping up electric-powered vehicles in record numbers. In the first half of the year alone, automakers sold 1.2 million new energy vehicles and almost a quarter of a million in June alone.
New BRI Index Reveals China’s Contractors Are Bullish on Building New Infrastructure in ASEAN, Not So Much in Africa
The Chinese state-owned insurance giant Sinosure and the China International Contractors Association released their new BRI Infrastructure Development Index that indicates where they think conditions are best for infrastructure growth. There's a lot of interest in Southeast Asia, much less so in Africa. Respondents ...
What Advice is a Loan Official From China’s Largest Bank Giving to Companies Looking to Invest in Africa?
Now that China has all but stopped large-scale lending for major infrastructure projects in Africa, there's a lot of confusion over what happens next. After all, Chinese lending has been the cornerstone of Beijing's 15+ year engagement strategy on the continent. ...
Uganda to Become the Latest African Country to Receive Vaccines From China
Staff from the Ugandan embassy in Beijing conducted a final inspection of a shipment of 300,000 doses of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine that will arrive in Kampala on Saturday. This is among the first vaccine deliveries from China to Uganda ...
China’s New Ambassador to Uganda is Making the Rounds
China's new envoy to Uganda, Zhang Lizhong, isn't wasting any time becoming acquainted with local stakeholders in Uganda. Just one day after he presented his credentials to President Yoweri Museveni, the new ambassador met with the head of the state-run (and ...