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
Meet 16-Year Old Guangzhou Native Su Yuliang Who’s Poised to Make History in China’s Pro Soccer League
There will be a young, fresh face playing for Guangzhou FC when the Chinese Super League (CSL) opens its new season. Born in the southern Chinese city to Nigerian and Chinese parents, Su Yuliang (苏宇亮) was drafted by the club and, at 16 years old, if he ...
China Malls Looted and Burned in South Africa Riots
China Malls in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province are among the commercial centers being looted and burned in the worsening protests that are ravaging a number of major South African cities. It doesn't appear that the China Malls, like ...
China Champions the Human Rights of “Africans and People of African Descent” in UN Squabble With the U.S.
China's increasingly contentious dispute with European and North American countries over human rights in Xinjiang has now led to Beijing rallying on behalf of "Africans and people of African descent" in Western countries who are the victims of systemic racism in those societies. The issue first came ...
U.S. Ethnic Cleansing Charges Against Ethiopia and China May Be Helping to Foster Closer Ties Between Addis and Beijing
The U.S. State Department submitted a report to Congress this week that named both Ethiopia and China among a group of countries that commits ethnic cleansing against their own people. The designation has roiled ties between the U.S. and Ethiopia, ...
EJF: Chinese Fishing Trawler Captains Bribe and Intimidate Ghanaian Government Observers
The Ghanaian government's efforts to monitor and report illegal fishing activities on trawlers operating under its flag, many owned by Chinese companies, has been critically undermined through intimidation and bribery, according to a damning new report by the London-based non-profit Environmental Justice Foundation.
A Lot of People Mistakenly Think China’s The Major Funder of Coal Plants Around the World. New BU Report Says That’s Not the Case.
China is indeed the largest government funder of coal power projects around the world, accounting for 50% of coal projects that reached financial closure between 2013 and 2018, according to a new policy brief from Boston University's Global Development Policy Center.
South African Eli Zaelo Wants to be China’s Next “Mandopop” Star
27-year old Pretoria-native Eli Zaelo came to Hong Kong a few years ago to perform as part of the Lion King cast at Disneyland. She had never been to Asia before and didn't speak a word of Chinese, either Cantonese or Mandarin. But she did see an opportunity, ...
Tanzania Resumes Talks With China Over the Bagamoyo Port Deal. But Is It Too Late?
Tanzanian President Samia Hassan surprised a lot of people last month when she announced that talks with China had resumed over the controversial Bagamoyo port deal. This is the deal that President Hassan's predecessor, the late John Magufuli, famously halted back ...
COVAX Gets a Shot in the Arm From Chinese Vaccine Makers With a Half a Billion Doses Promised Over the Next Year
The ailing COVAX global vaccine alliance will get some badly-needed support from China's two largest vaccine manufacturers. Both Sinovac and Sinopharm signed advance purchase agreements with COVAX on Monday that will include an immediate rush shipment of 110 million doses followed by an additional 400 ...
India, China Lead The Way in Delivering on Vaccine Promises For Non-COVAX Commitments
With the Delta variant spreading rapidly across much of the developing world with an acute shortage of vaccines, new attention is being focused on the promises that wealthy countries have made to provide jabs compared to what they've actually delivered. The data tracked by the analytics firm ...
Chinese Vaccine Deliveries Close in the Half-Billion Mark With 6% Going to Africa
China has shipped "more than 500 million doses and concentrates to over 100 countries and international organizations, one-sixth of the total global output," according to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian. Zhao did not provide a breakdown of ...
How to Make Sense of the Raging Debate Over Chinese Vaccine Efficacy
Reuters, Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal and many other international news outlets have published a stream of stories over the past week that raise a lot of doubts over the effectiveness of Chinese vaccines in developing countries and whether or not they're strong enough to protect against ...