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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Chinese Media Report on What Happened in South Africa, They Just Won’t Tell You Much About Why It Happened
Chinese media coverage of last week's violence in South Africa was notable for how it reported on the events that led to the death of at least 200 people and caused widespread damage in many of South Africa's largest cities including Durban, Newcastle, and Johannesburg among others. ...
While Some in Asia and the Americas Raise New Concerns About the Efficacy of Chinese Vaccines, the PRC Embassy in Zimbabwe Claims Success
A large-scale vaccination drive in the western Zimbabwean city of Victoria Falls that's led to a plunge in the COVID-19 infection rate is prompting officials to claim they reached herd immunity. The Chinese embassy celebrated the success on Twitter on Monday, highlighting the fact that it was ...
Chinese Vaccine Deliveries to Africa Jumped by 4 Million Last Week
China is rapidly closing in half a billion total vaccines distributed worldwide with 4 million additional doses sent to African countries last week, according to the latest data by the independent firm Bridge Beijing's weekly vaccine tracking report. ...
Translation: A Storm is Approaching For Chinese Mining Companies in the DR Congo
The following is a translation of an article published on the Global Mining (世界矿业 )WeChat page on July 15, 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 ...
South African Resource Exports to China Struggle to Get Going Again After Last Week’s Mayhem
Exports of critical minerals and other extractive commodities to China through South Africa's main port in Durban remain intermittent as the country digs itself out of the wreckage brought on by last week's mass protests and looting. At least 212 people died in the violence. ...
The Future of a Critical Nigerian Pipeline Now in Jeopardy as Chinese Lenders Balk
The fate of a multi-billion billion gas pipeline project in Nigeria is now in question after Chinese lenders have seemingly backed out of the deal, forcing the Federal Government to look elsewhere to raise the missing capital. The Bank of China ...
Three Chinese Construction Workers Kidnapped in Mali
A trio of Chinese nationals and two Mauritanians were kidnapped at gunpoint from a road construction site in southwestern Mali on Saturday by unknown militants. The assailants destroyed equipment including a crane and dump trucks belonging to Chinese construction firm COVEC, ...
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Three-Nation 4-day MENA Tour
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is back in Africa for the second time this year as part of a three-nation tour of Middle Eastern and North African countries. Wang began his trip in Syria on Saturday where he ...
With Just One Donation, U.S. Vaccine Distributions to Africa Nearly Match China’s
The U.S. government announced on Friday that it will send 25 million vaccine doses to Africa, a donation that comes close to matching the 27.9 million jabs that China has provided to various African countries over the past six months.
Lots of People in Washington Are Furious That the U.S. Gives Money to COVAX While China Sells Vaccines to the Alliance
Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin channeled the widespread anger on Capitol Hill and in the Biden administration over last week's news that COVAX will buy 500 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from Sinopharm and Sinovac. They're upset about the fact that the U.S. has donated $4 billion ...
Namibia’s National Vaccine Drive to Resume Today Thanks to New Shipment of Chinese Jabs
A shipment of 250,000 Sinopharm vaccines that arrived on Friday will allow Namibia to restart its national vaccination campaign today. Public health officials halted the inoculation drive last week after the country literally ran out of vaccines. "Distribution ...
Can BRI and B3W Co-Exist in Africa?
The Group of 7 countries recently announced a rival to China's Belt and Road Initiative. Their new Build Back Better World (B3W) initiative has prompted widespread discussion of the implications for developing regions that are desperate for new sources of capital to build infrastructure. ...