Category: Academia
China and the Burgeoning Debt Crisis in Africa
With more than 20 African countries now approaching or confronting debt distress, according to the IMF, a trio of scholars at the London-based international affairs think tank Chatham House mapped out what they think needs to be done to address the situation.
China’s Delicate Mideast Balancing Act on Display This Week
With the visits by Iranian and Saudia Arabian foreign ministers book-ended this week, China is demonstrating how it navigates the Persian Gulf's bitter rivalries. Although Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin was characteristically vague about the details of Iranian ...
Chinese Scholar Identifies Three Pillars of Great Power Competition in Africa
It's a relatively recent phenomenon for China to frame its relations in Africa within the larger context of great power competition with the United States and the European Union. Prior to the Trump administration when the ties between the U.S. and China started deteriorating more rapidly, Africa ...
The ‘China Building a Military Base in Equatorial Guinea’ Narrative is Fast Becoming Normalized… No Evidence Needed
The unsubstantiated claim by the U.S. military that China is considering Equatorial Guinea as the location of its next military base in Africa is widely gaining traction among U.S. and European journalists, scholars, and analysts despite the fact that there is still no evidence to verify the ...
Two-Day China-Africa Innovation Conference Wraps Up in Wuhan
Representatives from nearly two dozen African countries participated in a two-day China-Africa Innovation Cooperation Conference that concluded on Monday in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. Some 15 joint technology and science initiatives were signed at the event. ...
China Grabs on to Deborah Brautigam’s Frustration With the BBC
The Chinese government and state media have picked up on the controversy that erupted last week when Professor Deborah Brautigam, director of the China-Africa Research Initiative at Johns Hopkins University, complained on Twitter that the BBC had edited her comments on allegations of 'Chinese debt-trap ...
African Analysts and Scholars React to FOCAC 8 Outcomes
The Atlantic Council, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, convened an online roundtable on Tuesday of senior-level analysts from across Africa to discuss the outcomes of this week's FOCAC conference in Senegal with a particular focus on the economic impact. ...
Scholars, Diplomats in South Africa Discuss the Future of Africa-China Ties
The South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) together with the Chinese embassy in Pretoria hosted an online forum last week that featured discussions among Chinese diplomats, including Ambassador Chen Xiaodong, and scholars from both China and Africa to discuss the future of ties between the two ...
CARI Researchers Critique AidData’s Report on Chinese “Hidden Debt” in BRI Countries
AidData's landmark research report published last month, "Banking on the Belt and Road," generated tremendous media coverage around the world, particularly related to the report's finding that $385 billion in so-called "hidden debts" are owed to China. ...
First-Ever African Students Forum Convenes In Beijing
Students from 36 different African countries gathered in Beijing on Sunday to take part in the first-ever African students' forum organized by the China-Africa Institute with the support of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, one of the country's leading public policy think tanks. ...
Why Zambia is An Outlier Among African Countries That Owe Money to China
Zambia owes at least 18 Chinese creditors $6.6 billion, nearly twice as much as previously stated, according to a new report published by the China-Africa Research Initiative (CARI) at Johns Hopkins University. And that figure may be even higher as it ...
Li Anshan’s “Five Basic Facts About China-Africa Relations”
Professor Li Anshan is widely regarded as the preeminent Chinese scholar on African affairs. Li, who's now a professor emeritus at Peking University and President of the Chinese Association of African History, has shaped the Chinese intellectual discourse on Africa probably more than anyone else in academia. ...