When it was announced in 2023 that the African Union would become a full member of the G20, I darkly joked on a podcast that the AU’s entry into the body could very well mark the moment the G20 lost its status as one of the most important global coordination forums. Mark my words, I said, soon The Economist will be like “Uhhh, the G20 is OVER – it’s the ...
Category: Africa
Cameroon Goes All in on Chinese Safe Cities, but at What Cost?
In 2014, the Cameroonian government launched the “Cameroon Intelligent City Project,” where 70 Huawei-supplied CCTV cameras were installed across six localities. The project expanded through several phases, with some sources noting that the government hopes to install 24,000 cameras nationwide. By December 2025, government borrowing for these initiatives had ...
U.S. Grants Loan for Strategic Angola Rail Line
The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) said it has agreed a loan for the refurbishment of a rail link in Angola strategic for the transport of minerals which are in high demand at American firms. In an announcement Wednesday, the ...
Kidnapping of Chinese Influencer in South Africa Sparks Alarm Over “High-Profile Travel”
A kidnapping in South Africa has sent shockwaves through China’s internet, not only because a Chinese traveler was violently targeted, but because the scheme appears to have been orchestrated with help from a Chinese national. The victim, a top travel influencer with more than 26 million ...
China’s Role in Africa’s Industrialization: Obstacle, Partner, or Both?
Africa’s industrialization push is colliding with the defining economic question of this era: how can any country or region climb the manufacturing value chain so long as China dominates industrial production of pretty much, well, everything?
Kenya Sees a Third Wave of Chinese Investment, Led This Time by Shandong
Over more than a decade in Kenya, the popular WeChat commentator Xiao Nie “小聂说事儿,” witnessed three waves of Chinese investment. The first came from Guangdong and Fujian, who are small-scale commodity traders. The second was led by Zhejiang entrepreneurs in manufacturing, wholesale, and e-commerce, followed by a ...
Why the U.S.-DRC Mining Deal is Bad News For China
The U.S. and the DR Congo signed a landmark deal on critical minerals during President Félix Tshisekedi's visit to the White House this week. The pact provides the U.S. with extraordinary access to the Congolese mining sector and is widely expected ...
In Congo’s Cobalt Belt, a Chinese Miner’s Waste Leaves Villages Poisoned and Furious
By Camille Lafont Carrying her sore-pocked daughter across her decaying field, Helene Mvubu says she is one of thousands to have fallen victim to the toxic waste defiling the Democratic Republic of Congo's mining capital. ...
Kenya Launches $1.5 Billion Road Project With Chinese Firms
Kenya on Friday launched a $1.5 billion road expansion project financed by Chinese firms, including a state-owned company. Beijing is among Kenya's top five development lenders, with Nairobi owing China some $4.7 billion, according to official 2025 data. ...
East Africa Court Dismisses Activists’ Case Over Massive Franco-Chinese Oil Project
The East African Court of Justice has dismissed a case challenging TotalEnergies' massive oil project in Uganda and Tanzania, after civil society groups sought a full trial over the controversial development. Four civil society groups first filed a petition in 2020 ...
As Conflict Escalates in Eastern Congo, China’s Mining Giants Confront New Risks Far From the Front Lines
In late November, China’s Foreign Ministry issued a stark warning about the Democratic Republic of Congo: the security situation in the east has deteriorated sharply, with armed clashes, extremist activity and attacks against foreign workers rising again. Congo sits at the ...
A Chinese Upstart Takes On Big Tobacco in Kenya — by Playing It Straight
In a sector long dominated by counterfeit trade and British American Tobacco's (BAT) near-monopoly of the Kenyan cigarette market, a Chinese distributor did something no one expected: it played by the book. The popular Kenya-based Chinese online commentator Xiao Nie “小聂说事儿,” ...
South Africa and China Launch Joint African Modernization Initiative
South Africa and China announced a new joint initiative aimed at boosting African modernization. The initiative was announced on Sunday during the closing of the G20 summit in Johannesburg. The text of the announcement emphasizes that the initiative will harmonize with ...
How China Uses Parliamentary Buildings to Build Influence in Africa
China has funded, designed, and built more than 200 government buildings across Africa, including the headquarters of the African Union and Ecowas, foreign ministry annexes in Ghana and Kenya, and at least 15 national parliaments. ...