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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Global South Ambassadors Participate in State-led Xinjiang Junket and Didn’t “Find Any Human Rights Violations”
Ambassadors from 25 developing countries completed a week-long junket to Xinjiang organized by the Chinese government and, according to Chinese state media, found "people in Xinjiang are enjoying a happy life." The participants included envoys from Myanmar, Iran, Samoa and Dominica. ...
Nigerians’ (Misplaced) Anxiety About Chinese Debt
For years, Nigerian politicians and media reports have issued breathless warnings about the dangers of becoming too indebted to China, fearing the dreaded "debt trap" and the risk of surrendering the country's strategic assets. While ...
WEEK IN REVIEW: Japanese Foreign Minister Arrived in South Africa on Tuesday on Three-Nation African Tour
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi arrived in South Africa on Tuesday for the first leg of a three-nation African tour that also includes stops in Uganda and Ethiopia. Hayashi's visit is widely seen as part of G7 countries' broader effort to counteract China and Russia's growing influence on ...
Is China Setting the Agenda for Global South Debt Restructuring?
In June, Zambia reached what's been described as a landmark debt restructuring deal that for the first time brought together the country's bilateral creditors including China, traditional Paris Club lenders and bondholders. While the deal ...
Reflections on a Summer in the United States
I'll be heading back to Vietnam this week after seven weeks in the U.S. -- the longest period I've spent in this country in almost 15 years. I'm so grateful to the hundreds of people who took the time to meet ...
10 Years and a Trillion Dollars Later, the BRI Turns Green
China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) crossed a number of critical milestones in the first half of the year that seem to demonstrate President Xi Jinping's signature foreign policy initiative is still going strong despite concerns over debt sustainability. 102 deals ...
U.S. Lawmakers Want to Sell More Stuff to Africa and Latin America to Counter China
Tucked away in a remote corner of the U.S. Senate's version of the massive $875 billion proposed budget for the U.S. Defense Department is a small piece of legislation that aims to boost U.S. exports to Africa. The legislation, known as the ...
EU’s Ursula von der Leyen Takes Aim at China During Philippines Visit, Pledges Maritime Security Assistance
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen sharply criticized China's increasingly assertive behavior in the South China Sea and vowed closer security cooperation with the Philippines. "We are concerned about the rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific," she said during a visit to ...
Asia Society Task Force Urges U.S. to Focus More Attention on Southeast Asia to Compete With China
A joint task force organized by the Asia Society, a New York-based research institution, published a new report with a number of pointed recommendations for U.S. policymakers to improve their engagement in Southeast Asia and become competitive with China in the region.
Xi Meets With Indonesia’s Jokowi in Summer Diplomacy Sprint
Chinese President Xi Jinping took advantage of the World University Games now underway in the southwestern province of Sichuan to meet with visiting Asian and African leaders, most notably Indonesia's Joko Widodo -- also known as Jokowi. The Indonesian president's ...
China, Russia Eager to Expand the BRICS Group, Other Members Not So Much
Expanding the five-nation BRICS group is a popular topic of discussion among Global South policymakers, with at least 40 countries now interested in joining the group and twenty-two having already applied for membership. While China and Russia have both enthusiastically embraced the ...
Chinese Foreign Policy Viewed Decidely Negative in 24- Country Pew Survey
Publics in two dozen countries around the world, mostly advanced economies in the Global North, are increasingly negative about China and its foreign policy, according to the findings of Pew Research Center's annual Global Attitudes Survey. Unsurprisingly, negative views about China ...