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
China’s Low-Key Response to the Niger Coup
The Chinese government has been noticeably quiet in response to the turbulent events in Niger where President Mohamed Bazoum was deposed last month in a military coup. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has issued three pro-forma ...
WEEK IN REVIEW: U.S. President Joe Biden Said He Will Travel to Vietnam “Shortly”
U.S. President Joe Biden said he will travel to Vietnam “shortly” and that Hanoi is interested in elevating its relationship with the United States and become a major partner. This follows a trip by Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Vietnam in April. Asked about the comments, a ...
Plunging Chinese Trade Data Rattles Global South Stocks and Currencies
From Chile to South Africa to the Philippines, stock markets across the developing world fell sharply on Tuesday after Chinese customs authorities released worse-than-expected trade data. Chinese exports plunged 14.5% in July compared to the same time last year, the ...
Tensions Surge Between China and the Philippines Over WWII Warship at the Center of Territorial Dispute
The Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) immediately dismissed China's call to remove a decommissioned World War II-era warship, the BRP Sierra Madre, from a disputed shoal in the South China Sea that Manila claims is anchored well within the country's territorial waters.
China Releases New Video That Aims to Counter Claims It Attacked the Philippine Supply Vessel
The China Coast Guard released a new video on Tuesday that aims to bolster its assertions that it did not strike the Philippine supply vessel with a direct blast of water but instead merely used the blast to keep it from entering what it deems as Chinese territorial ...
China, Thailand Agree to Fight Call-Center Gangs
Senior Chinese and Thai security officials met in Bangkok on Tuesday to discuss closer cooperation to combat so-called "call center gangs" that have ensnared thousands of Chinese nationals into forced labor across Southeast Asia. China's Public Security Vice Minister Xu Ganlu ...
Chinese Weapons Giant Norinco Wants to Expand Its Business in West Africa
The Chinese state-owned arms manufacturer Norinco opened a new sales office in the Senegalese capital Dakar this week as part of the company's effort to expand its business in West Africa. The company is already a major supplier to militaries ...
Some 40 Countries Want to Join the BRICS Group, But Not Mexico, Says President
Applying to join the BRICS club has become increasingly fashionable among developing countries, with 40 states expressing interest in becoming a member of the China-initiated club -- but not Mexico. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said on Tuesday that he has nothing ...
Tensions Flare in South China Sea Following China’s Use of Water Cannon Against Unarmed Philippine Navy Supply Boat
The Philippine military condemned the Chinese Coast Guard's use of a water cannon against a much smaller unarmed supply boat that took place in disputed waters in the South China Sea on Saturday. The use of a cannon to block the ...
China’s Use of a Water Canon Against Philippines Vessels Was Planned in Advance to Set an Example for Others, Says U.S. Analyst
The following is an excerpt from an article written by Ray Powell, director of the Project Myoushu at Stanford University's Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, that tracks Chinese maritime activity in the South China Sea. Powell spent more than 30 ...
China’s Foreign Ministry Signals Support for Niger’s Deposed President But Fails to Provide Any Specific Information
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs broke its silence regarding the recent coup in Niger. It issued a curt statement late last week that expressed support for deposed president Mohamed Bazoum but failed to provide any specific details about the status of key Chinese interests and personnel in ...
Japanese Minister’s Africa Tour Riles China as Tokyo Looks to Build Its Own EV Battery Metal Supply Chain
Japan's Economy and Industry Minister Nishimura Yasutoshi arrived in Namibia on Sunday for the first leg of a five-nation Africa tour that focuses specifically on securing new supplies of critical resources needed to power electric vehicles. Nishimura will also visit Angola, the DR ...