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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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. ...
Week in Review: Minerals, Mayhem and Mediation
With most strategic mineral exports from the Democratic Republic of the Congo shipped to China through the port of Durban in South Africa, the recent closure of the N3 highway that connects the port to Johannesburg presents a potentially costly disruption to vital supply chains. Authorities were forced ...
Chinese Businesses in South Africa Form Armed Self Defense Groups to Protect Their Property From Looters
Chinese business owners in KwaZulu-Natal's third-largest city Newscastle are forming armed civil patrols to protect their property and residents from the violent protests that have steadily escalated since July 8th, according to a report published by the Chengdu Commercial Daily newspaper. The Newcastle area ...
Amid Escalating Violence in South Africa, Chinese Embassy Warns Its Citizens To Take Urgent Precautions
The Chinese embassy in Pretoria is warning all Chinese nationals in South Africa to take immediate precautions to protect themselves and their businesses from the rapidly deteriorating security situation in KwaZulu-Natal province and other regions around the country. "The ...
Weibo User: Where Are the Wolf Warriors to Rescue Chinese Nationals in South Africa?
Where's Wu Jing and the Wolf Warriors to help overseas Chinese impacted by the violence in South Africa wondered Weibo user "Little Tiger" (某小老虎) in a post on the Chinese social network on Wednesday. Although "
Burkina Faso Launches New Huawei-Powered Smart City Initiative Using Loan From the China Exim Bank
The Burkina Faso government announced an ambitious new plan last week to build a 650-kilometer fiber-optic network that will connect all of the country's major cities to a new Huawei-powered Smart City platform. Sensitive to the perception that the ...
Hunan Provincial Authorities Provide Film & Media Training to 65 Journalists From Across Francophone Africa
Media companies and government officials from China's central Hunan province are in the midst of a two-week training program for French-speaking journalists from across Africa, including 20 from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and others from Senegal, Cameroon, and Gabon among other countries. ...