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For Chinese Viewers, a Serbian Blogger Replaces a Simple Story with a Complex Reality

In recent weeks, Serbia has once again found itself at the crossroads of global power politics. On Chinese social media, military enthusiasts have been celebrating the prominent role of Chinese-made equipment in Serbia’s preparations for its September 20 military parade — including the debut of two ...

From Shops to Factories, Chinese Merchants in South Africa Face Sudden Regulatory Chill

A Johannesburg court recently sentenced seven Chinese nationals to 20 years in prison each for trafficking 91 Malawian workers and forcing them into labor at a textile factory. The high-profile ruling has not only drawn headlines, but also triggered a new wave of enforcement pressure on ...

China Recasts Nepal’s Gen Z Uprising as an Economic Crisis, Sidestepped Free Speech

A protest that began with young Nepalis defending their online voices was recast in Chinese coverage as a story of jobs, remittances, and corruption. The tone appeared strikingly neutral, yet it was telling in what it left unsaid. The immediate trigger ...

Why Sahel States Are Turning to Chinese Military Gear

In early September, Guinea’s port of Conakry turned into a military stage as convoys of CS/VP-14 mine-resistant vehicles, VN-22 6×6 infantry carriers, command and recovery vehicles, and even an SR-5 rocket artillery system rolled off Chinese cargo ships and headed toward Mali’s capital. ...

How Chinese Fintech Is Overcoming Africa’s Limited Banks and Patchy Internet to Build Mobile Wallets for 1 Billion Users

At a bustling Lagos market, a fish vendor no longer worries about counterfeit bills—his PalmPay QR code brings instant payments confirmed by a Yoruba voice alert. In Johannesburg, a Chinese garment trader receives rand through Vodapay that lands in renminbi within minutes, bypassing costly bank delays. These ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

Revealing Reactions to China’s Festival of Optics

In terms of geopolitical optics, this week was nothing short of a banquet. It served up at least two sets of images that seem to crystallize our historical moment and that will live on in the Wikipedia of history as shorthand for where the world was in 2025.
One is the waves of uncannily synchronized soldiers and a bewildering array of high-tech weaponry gliding down Beijing’s Chang’an Avenue. The ...

South Asian Rider’s Court Victory in Hong Kong Shows How Extreme Weather Tests Gig Platforms

When a South Asian Foodpanda rider injured during a typhoon in Hong Kong was awarded $167,000 (HK$1.3 million) in compensation, the case instantly stood out—not just for the size of the payout, but for what it revealed about the city’s labor landscape. Hong Kong, a hub for ...

Indonesian Riots Won’t Turn Into Another 1998 Anti-Chinese Pogrom, Chinese Expert Says

Recent unrest in Indonesia has been one of the largest outbreaks of social turmoil since 1998, when widespread violence included anti-Chinese riots. Some Chinese business owners in Indonesia even reinforced their shops to prevent damage. In an interview with the ...

Chinese Military Blogger Reviews Vietnam’s Parade on the Eve of Beijing’s Own

On the day before China’s September 3rd military parade marking the 80th anniversary of victory in World War II, Vietnam staged its own large-scale celebration in Hanoi for the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day. On a Chinese WeChat public account focused on military ...

Why Chinese Flight Attendants Love Africa Routes

The most coveted international route among China Southern Airlines crew isn’t to glamorous destinations in Europe or the United States, but to Africa, a flight attendant recently revealed on Chinese video platform Bilibili.  Back in 2015, during China Southern’s peak ...

Chinese Social Media Mocks Japan’s Plan to Welcome African Migrants

When Tokyo announced it would welcome African migrants to revive depopulated towns, many Chinese online reacted with scorn. Japan announced plans to bring in African migrants through a “special talent visa program” unveiled at the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African ...

On Chinese Social Media, Rwanda’s Army Looks Strikingly Like the PLA

On Chinese social media, a Bilibili video has left netizens marveling at how much Rwanda’s army has come to resemble the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). The edit splices together clips of Rwandan infantry drills, martial art practices, parades, and even the hand gestures of their instructors. ...

Why China’s Middle-Class Families Are Flocking to Kenya for Summer Trips

In the summer of 2023, a curious travel trend began surfacing on Chinese social media feeds: middle-class parents were flying their children halfway across the world, not to Disneyland or a European city, but to Kenya’s grasslands. For China’s aspirational urban families, East Africa has suddenly become ...
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