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
Ramaphosa’s Latest Call For the IMF to Issue New Funds Likely to Become Snared in U.S.-China Dispute
Speaking in both his capacity as the outgoing chair of the African Union and the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa renewed his calls for urgent action by the International Monetary Fund to provide funds to developing countries by issuing new Special Drawing Rights (SDRs).
Debunking the U.S.-Led “Chinese Debt Trap” Narrative… Again
Acclaimed China-Africa scholar Deborah Bräutigam together with Harvard Business School professor Meg Rithmire published a detailed takedown in The Atlantic magazine of the U.S.-led "debt trap" narrative that remains a bedrock belief among large swathes of official Washington. The two ...
Why Was Xiaomei Havard Appointed as a Replacement MP in South Africa Given That She Has No Political Experience?
Although the overt racist and xenophobic reactions following last month's appointment by South Africa's ruling African National Congress of Xiaomei Havard as a replacement member of parliament have largely died down, many party members are now wondering how someone with no previous political experience or other relevant ...
China’s Winning the Vaccine Optics Battle
68 days is all it took for Ethiopian Airlines and Alibaba's logistics division Cainiao to build a new air bridge between China and Africa that will ferry vaccines through distribution hubs in Addis Ababa and Dubai. The first flight landed on ...
China & The Geopolitics of COVID Vaccines in Africa
COVID-19 vaccines are finally starting to make their way to the world's poorest countries as production of Chinese, Russian and Indian jabs ramps up. But it's the large-scale distribution of Chinese vaccines that's causing a lot of people around the world, ...
Why Was Xiaomei Havard Appointed as a Replacement MP in South Africa Given That She Has No Political Experience?
Although the overt racist and xenophobic reactions following last month's appointment by South Africa's ruling African National Congress of Xiaomei Havard as a replacement member of parliament have largely died down, many party members are now wondering how someone with no previous political experience or other relevant ...
China’s Cutting Back on BRI Financing, But Not For Renewable Energy
China has dramatically cut back financing overseas infrastructure development initiatives, especially for carbon-intensive energy projects involving oil, gas, and coal. From 2016 to 2019, China's two major policy banks slashed lending by a stunning 85%. ...
Paul Kagame: “I Don’t Think China Has Forced Any Country in Africa To Take Their Money”
President Paul Kagame joined former U.S. National Security Advisor for what has become a trademark for the Rwandan leader to be brutally frank with U.S. and European interlocutors about sensitive political issues in Africa, including China's presence on the continent. President ...
Senator Ted Cruz Delays Confirmation Vote on U.N. Ambassador Nominee Linda Thomas-Greenfield Over Her China-Africa Speech
Texas Senator Ted Cruz threw a wrench into Linda Thomas-Greenfield's confirmation process to become the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Cruz called for a one-week delay of the vote on her confirmation and while that doesn't sound like much, it would push ...
Rival Factions in Washington Square Up For a New Fight Over IMF Special Drawing Rights
Early on in the COVID-19-induced financial crisis in Africa, finance ministers and other senior-level stakeholders across the continent called on the IMF to issue new so-called Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) that would provide desperately-needed liquidity into their economies. When
China Donates 10 Million Doses of COVID-19 Vaccine to the Global Covax Alliance
China took a big step on Wednesday to expand its global vaccine donation drive with a sizable contribution to the global vaccine alliance known as Covax. The Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that Beijing would provide the alliance with 10 million doses from three of China's largest ...
South Africa Received Its First Vaccine Shipment This Week But Critics Are Blasting the President For Not Buying Chinese and Russian Jabs
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa personally went to Johannesburg OR Tambo International Airport late Monday night to witness the off-loading of 1 million COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccines that arrived from the Serum Institute of India (SII). While there's no doubt relief that vaccines ...