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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It’s Getting a Lot Easier For African Shoppers to Buy Stuff on Alibaba and That Could Have a Huge Impact
The Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has been rather slow to enter the African market, focusing instead on other emerging markets like Southeast Asia where it's developing its Lazada brand. But now it appears that the Hangzhou-based company is ramping up its engagement on the continent with new ...
Alibaba Gives a Shot in the Arm to China’s Vaccine Distribution Plan for Africa
China's COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan in Africa is slowly starting to come into focus. Yesterday's news that Cainiao (菜鸟网络科技有限公司), the powerful logistics arm of e-commerce giant Alibaba, is teaming up with Ethiopian Airlines to build an international cold-chain network with hubs in ...
U.S. Congressional Report: Africa is a “Cornerstone” of China’s Ambition to Revise the International Order
The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (aka USCC), a congressionally-mandated U.S. government commission, submitted its annual report to Congress on Tuesday. The report provides a broad overview of how the United States perceives geostrategic competition with China across a variety ...
Amid Rising COVID Infection Rates, Kenya Looks to China For Help in Securing Vaccine Supplies
President Uhuru Kenyatta directed the Health Ministry to open talks with China to secure supplies of a future COVID-19 vaccine. Until now, Kenya had planned to depend on the global vaccine alliance known as Covax but amid a new wave of infections and mounting ...
Global Times: Africa and Latin America Will Prefer a Chinese-Made COVID-19 Vaccine
Chinese propaganda outlets are moving to frame the narrative that Chinese-made COVID-19 vaccines are better suited for developing countries compared to those made by U.S. and European organizations. "African and some Latin American countries would prefer Chinese-developed inactivated vaccines, due to ...
FOCAC at 20: Deborah Brautigam Looks Back at Two Decades of China-Africa Summits
This year marks the 20th anniversary since the first triennial Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit convened in Beijing. Now, preparations are underway for the next FOCAC gathering, scheduled to take place in Dakar, Senegal -- although whether it will be an in-person or online gathering will ...
China Taps Into African Anger Over Antiquities Stolen During the Colonial Period
There's recently been a noticeable increase in discussions on China's diplomatic Twitter accounts in Africa and in official media about the return of antiquities stolen during the colonial era. This has long been a point of contention between African countries and European museums, who continue to hold ...
China and the Race to Supply C19 Vaccines in Africa
A palpable sense of anxiety is emerging from a number of African capitals that when COVID-19 vaccines are finally available, poorer, lesser-developed countries are going to once again be at the end of the line. We saw this earlier this week ...
David Monyae Reflects on the Current State of China-Africa Relations
2020's been a turbulent year for China's relations with African countries amid the ongoing pandemic, a worsening debt crisis and an eruption of racial tensions. While those are no doubt difficult challenges, it's also important to note that a lot of ...
Cyril Ramaphosa Renews Calls For Urgent Debt Relief for Africa. But is Anyone Listening?
South African President and Chair of the African Union Cyril Ramaphosa issued yet another urgent appeal for the international community to provide immediate debt relief for Africa. "Urgent and collective action is needed there to stave off that crisis and to maintain the invaluable social gains that ...
As the Biden Administration Takes Shape, New Calls for a Reset of U.S. Africa Policy With Less Focus on China
With Antony Blinken nominated to run the State Department and veteran diplomat Linda Thomas-Greenfield picked to represent the U.S. at the United Nations, there's increased hope in Washington these two will be receptive to a new approach to U.S. foreign policy towards Africa -- specifically with a reduced ...
Rapidly Deteriorating China-Australia Ties Provides a Sobering Lesson For African Countries
There's an old Chinese idiom that says "kill a chicken to scare the monkey" (殺雞儆猴). According to the folktale, there was a street performer who made a lot of money from a dancing monkey. One day, that monkey, however, didn't want to perform. The owner became very ...