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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As the COVID-19 Crisis Recedes at Home, China Promises New Support for African Countries
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang addressed Africa's struggle against COVID-19 at yesterday's regular press briefing in Beijing. Geng acknowledged that a number of African countries had provided China with money and supplies in recent weeks and promised that Beijing would provide additional support in return.
South Africans to be Evacuated From Wuhan Will be Home by Friday Says Government
After weeks of delays and uncertainty, details of the operation to evacuate 122 South African nationals from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the COVID-19 epidemic, were suddenly revealed on Tuesday. President Cyril Ramaphosa paid a visit to the military crew who ...
Tweet of the Day: Chinese Support of ANC Women’s League Charity Highlights Importance of CCP-ANC Ties
China's relationship with South Africa operates on two distinct levels: one governmental and the other between the two countries' ruling parties. Although not historical allies, the CCP's ties with the ANC ...
Why East Africa’s Next Railways Won’t be Built With Chinese Money
From Ethiopia to Kenya and soon Tanzania, thousands of kilometers of new railways are coming online. And if Tanzanian President John Magufuli is successful, Dar es Salaam will emerge as the hub of a hugely ambitious regional railway network that will stretch across half a dozen countries. ...
With an Eye on China, Europe Unveils New Africa Strategy
15 years after the European Union published its last strategy document for Africa, EU foreign policy leaders have come up with a new policy vision for the continent that officials unveiled on Monday. Officials say the "Comprehensive Strategy with Africa" aims ...
South Africans in Wuhan Wait and Wonder When They’ll be Evacuated
Hundreds of South African nationals stranded in Wuhan, China are growing despondent in response to the lack of any update from officials in Pretoria over their planned evacuation. When President Cyril Ramaphosa announced plans for the evacuation, he said it would ...
How Will COVID-19 Impact China’s Belt & Road Initiative?
Amid the worsening COVID-19 epidemic, China’s Belt and Road Initiative is facing its single greatest challenge since President Xi Jinping launch the BRI in 2013 when he promised countries around the world greater access to Chinese markets and capital. That interconnectedness ...
Chinese Ambassadors in Africa Amplify Beijing’s New Line That COVID-19 Isn’t “Made in China”
Chinese diplomats in Africa are really stepping up their efforts to try and persuade everyone that COVID-19 did not originate in China. Last week Ambassador Wu Peng in Kenya used this line and now Lin Songtian in South Africa appears to be ...
Did a Chinese Woman Die From COVID-19 in Zimbabwe? Depends on Who You Believe
Here's what we know: a woman from the eastern city of Mutare who recently returned from China made it to Wilkins hospital in Harare where she checked herself in complaining of symptoms consistent with those of COVID-19. We don't know her nationality and what the official cause ...
Africans May Dislike Their Dependence on Imported Chinese Goods, But There Isn’t Much They Can Do About It
With a majority of China's ports and factories still offline due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, African businesses are starting to run very low on supplies of products sourced in China, prompting discussions about where they will be able to find new, reliable yet equally affordable suppliers. ...
With Inventories of Chinese-made Products Running Low Across Africa, Shop Owners Wonder What’s Next
China-Africa trade has essentially come to a halt due to the worsening COVID-19 outbreak around the world, adding new pressure on small business owners across Africa who make a living selling imported Chinese goods. Now with inventories running low, shopowners are wondering how they're going to replenish ...
As Oil Prices Tumble, COVID-19 Rapidly Escalates From a Health Crisis to a Full-Blown Economic Crisis in Africa’s Crude-Exporting Countries
When oil trading started today in Asia, sellers moved quickly to unload their positions prompting a "cataclysmic collapse" that saw prices plunge by a stunning 31%, the single largest price drop in almost 30 years. The sell-off ...