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.
Chinese and Africans are Having Totally Different Conversations About Their Relationship
In this week's episode, Effy Zhang, a Beijing-based global affairs reporter for the privately-run financial news outlet Caixin, joins Eric & Cobus to talk about how she covers China-Africa issues for her readers in China. It's interesting to compare Chinese news coverage from that ...
A Rare Insider's View of the China-Africa Minerals Trade
China-Africa trade rebounded in 2018 after several years of steady declines. Trade between the two regions last year increased by nearly 20% to $204 billion, according to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. The bulk of Africa's exports to China is raw materials, namely oil ...
New Generation of Vloggers Aims to Tell a Different China-Africa Story
When Shanghai-native Zhao Huiling was 12, her family moved from China to Ghana where she lived until she was 18 years old. When she came back to China as a young adult, she quickly became frustrated with the stereotypes of Africa that are widely ...
The Beginner's Guide to China-Africa Relations
While there are a growing number of books that explore the China-Africa relationship, most are written either by scholars or journalists who are experts in the field and are written in a style that is often inaccessible for people new to this subject.
South Africa’s Rapid Rise to Become China’s Most Important African Relationship
25 years ago, China and South Africa were largely estranged from one another. The two countries didn’t even recognize each other recognize each other as the former apartheid government in Pretoria maintained diplomatic ties with China’s bitter rival in ...
Africa Caught in the Middle Amid U.S.-led Offensive Against Huawei
The United States has mounted a global campaign against the Chinese telecom giant Huawei, warning that the company's equipment could be used by the Chinese government to spy on other countries. The company any accusations that its equipment is susceptible to being ...
Why Kenyans Should be Wary of Learning to Speak Chinese
Kenya is the latest African country to integrate Mandarin language studies into its national curriculum, following South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda. The curriculum development institute in Nairobi said the new Chinese language teaching plan is complete and will be introduced to primary school ...
Why China Doesn't Need to Worry about Washington's New Africa Policy
When U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton announced Washington's new strategy for Africa last December, he mentioned China 14 times in his speech. So often, in fact, that a lot of observers commented that the new policy seemed to be more focused ...
Africa and the Prospect of a New U.S.-China Cold War
The last time the United States fought a Cold War it led to devastating, long term consequences for Africa. Now, as the U.S. moves to challenge China's growing influence around the world, Africa risks becoming collateral damage in yet another great power rivalry.
The Rise of Chinese Tech in Africa is Both Feared and Embraced
2019 is not even a month old and already two major Chinese tech companies have announced big plans to expand in Africa. Electronics giant Xiaomi and budget smartphone maker Realme (a sibling company of mobile device giant Oppo) will an ...