Author: Eric Olander
Eric Olander is the co-founder of the China Global South Project (CAP), 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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After Upbeat Meeting With President Buhari, Wang Yi Leaves Nigeria For the DR Congo
Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday before leaving for the Democratic Republic of the Congo as part of the FM's five-nation week-long Africa tour. The meeting seemed upbeat,
Chinese Media Coverage of Wang’s Visit Sticks Closely to Official Talking Points
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Editorial: Nairobi Expressway Toll Deal With Chinese Contractor Risks Creating Another “White Elephant”
The Business Daily Editorial Board warned the government that the proposed toll road pricing scheme for the new 27km Nairobi Expressway jeopardizes the financial stability of the project and risks creating another "white elephant" like the embattled Standard Gauge Railway. The ...
China’s Closing More Deals to Distribute COVID-19 Vaccines, But None So Far in Sub-Saharan Africa
The list of countries signing up to procure Chinese-made COVID-19 vaccines is growing, largely in developing countries, according to the U.S. news site Axios. While there are two African countries on the list, Egypt and Morocco, it's notable that so far no sub-Saharan ...
Everybody Seems to Agree That Chinese Overseas Lending is Decreasing… But By How Much?
Analysts Agatha Kratz and Matthew Mingey from the China-focused research firm Rhodium Group challenged the findings of a controversial dataset produced by Boston University's Global Policy Development Center. While Kratz and Mingey agree that lending by China's two major policy banks, the China ...
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If you didn't know anything about CGTN, China's state-run international television network, it'd be easy to mistake their new promotional spot as a slickly-produced commercial for the Chinese government's engagement in Africa. Images of Chinese contractors dancing with locals, doctors ...
Safaricom’s Decision to Suspend Its Huawei-Powered 5G Network is Just a Business Story
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Wang Yi’s Low-Profile Visit to Nigeria
Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi wrapped up the first day of his weeklong tour to five Africa countries in the Nigerian capital Abuja on Monday. Wang made no public appearances and instead met with various Nigerian ministers including his counterpart Geoffrey Onyeama and Transportation Minister Rotimi ...
While Wang Yi is in Town, Nigeria FM Also Meets With Huawei Delegation
Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama met with a visiting delegation from the local office of the Chinese telecom equipment giant Huawei on Monday, the same day that he also welcomed visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Abuja.
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The apparent disappearance of Alibaba founder Jack Ma is prompting growing concern in Kenya and elsewhere in Africa where the Chinese billionaire has recently built a strong following around his philanthropic ventures.
A China-Africa Angle Makes Its Way Into the Senate Run-Off Election in Georgia
Two conservative U.S. media outlets, Breitbart News and the National Review, used Democrat Senate candidate Jon Ossof's role in producing a 2015 China-Africa documentary for Al Jazeera English as purported evidence that the Georgia politician is purportedly sympathetic to ...