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’s New Man in Djibouti
China's new ambassador to Djibouti Hu Bin presented his credentials to Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf on Monday. https://twitter.com/ChineAmbDjibout/status/1419718652463566854?s=19 Hu is the second ...
TRANSLATION: My Kenyan Employee Who Just Disappeared
The following is a translation of an article published on the Bobu Africa (波布非洲 )WeChat page on July 20, 2021. The purpose of translations like this is to provide English language readers with a more informed understanding of the civil society discourse about China-Africa relations that is ...
African Food Bloggers Are Finding Large Audiences Live Streaming on Chinese Social Media
The following article is a summary of a longer version of this story by Shu Xiong (薯熊) that was published on the 公路商店's WeChat channel. The original, Chinese-language article is available here. From Rwanda to Guinea, from the Democratic Republic ...
“For the Umpteenth Time,” Chinese Mining Company in Zimbabwe Angrily Rejects Environmentalist Charges That It’s Operating in a Protected Area
The Zimbabwe-based Chinese-owned mining company Afrochinese Smelting rejected accusations that it is illegally operating in the Mavuradonha Wilderness Area in northern Zimbabwe. In a statement released on Sunday, the company claimed that it's the victim of a "coordinated media campaign" that it says is "smearing" the company's ...
No, U.S. Taxpayers Will Not Be Funding China’s “Vaccine Profiteering,” Says COVAX Boss
The head of the COVAX, Seth Berkley, sought to reassure Americans that their $4 billion donation to the global vaccine alliance will not be used to subsidize the purchase of Chinese-made COVID vaccines, according to a letter to the editor he sent ...
New Hungary Study Sparks Fresh Concerns About the Effectiveness of Chinese-Made Vaccines
A new study reveals some potentially troubling information about the effectiveness of the Sinopharm vaccine among elderly people. A survey of blood samples taken from 450 people in Hungary at least two weeks after their second Sinopharm dose ...
China’s Ambassador to Nigeria Sends Reassuring Signals on Infrastructure Loans
China's ambassador to Nigeria, Cui Jianchun (photo), spoke to the media last week to address the mounting concerns about China's commitment to continue providing loans for Nigerian infrastructure development. "The Chinese side can work with Nigeria for the railway because now, ...
Four Months Later, Chinese Scholars Respond to Critical Lending Report
It took a while but Chinese scholars have finally responded to a groundbreaking report published on March 31st by a group of four U.S. and European think tanks that details the contents of Chinese loan contracts. Huang Meibo and Niu Dongfang, ...
Zambia’s Amazing Come From Behind Draw Against China at the Olympics
If you didn't catch last week's Zambia-China women's soccer face-off at the Olympics in Tokyo then you missed what will no doubt go down as one of the greatest matches of the games. Going into the match, China was expected to ...
The Congolese Army Arrests Two Chinese and Two of Its Own Soldiers For the Brutal Beating of Mining Workers
The Armed Forces of the DR Congo (FARDC) took swift action this weekend against two of its own soldiers and a pair of Chinese nationals for their involvement in the recent violent beating of local artisanal miners. The incident took place ...
Welcome to the New Era of China-Africa Relations
China's apparent decision to bail on financing the $2.8 billion AKK pipeline in Nigeria is the latest evidence that Beijing's strategy to engage the continent has changed, a lot. This pipeline is now the third major project in Nigeria ...
Week in Review: Trade, Tilapia and Transmission Lines
Wycliffe Oparanya, governor of Kenya's Kakamega County, opened a new $120 million EU-financed fish processing factory that is intended to help Kenya reduce its dependence on imported Chinese tilapia and increase exports to Europe. Local fishers have long complained that low-cost Chinese imports, which they claim are also ...