The BRICS group wrapped up its two-day leaders’ summit in Rio de Janeiro on Monday. The summit’s final communique is a 16,000-word doorstop that covers numerous issues from economics to education.
The communique avoids any direct mention of the United States, and references to “unilateralism” and other coded criticism are also relatively scarce. Rather, the communique keeps the focus on the BRICS’ vision of the strengthening and reform of the global multilateral system ...
Category: Africa
Lithium Prices Are Crashing, But Some Producers Are Doubling Down. Why?
There is a puzzling shift unfolding in the global lithium market. Prices have collapsed by over 70% from their 2022 highs to around $12,000 per tonne, and yet, against all market logic, some Chinese lithium giants are not retreating. Instead, ...
Lessons for Europe From China’s Critical Minerals Strategy in Africa
While the U.S., India, and countries in the Persian Gulf are all moving quickly to establish new critical mineral supply chains, the European Union is struggling to follow suit, particularly in Africa. The EU currently lacks a cohesive policy framework that ...
Modi Visits Ghana to Strengthen Ties as India Seeks to Rival China in Africa
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ghana's President John Mahama agreed on Wednesday to deepen security and mining ties during the first visit by an Indian leader in three decades. Resource-rich Ghana, seen as a beacon of democratic stability in Africa, ...
India’s Modi Visits Ghana en Route to BRICS Summit
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is due in Ghana on Wednesday, the first Indian leader to visit the cocoa-rich country in three decades as the Asian nation competes with China and Russia for economic influence in Africa. He is scheduled to hold ...
Egypt, China Sign Big Chemical Factory Deal
Egypt has signed a deal with China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) and East China Engineering Science and Technology Co. for a $658 million industrial complex that will focus on the production of phosphoric acid. The plant will use locally extracted phosphate ore.
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
Top Chinese Party School Official Visits Nigeria as Part of the CPC’s Africa Outreach
A top official from the Chinese Communist Party's influential Central Party School visited Nigeria last week as part of a broader effort to deepen the CPC's ties in the region. Party School Vice President Gong Weibin met with Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe, head ...
Analysts Doubt Congo’s Cobalt Export Restrictions Will Do Much to Boost Prices in the Long Term
The Democratic Republic of the Congo extended a four-month export ban on cobalt exports in a bid to further constrain supply and boost prices of the critical metal that's used to manufacture electric vehicle batteries. The government hopes that by keeping additional ...
Standard Bank Becomes First African Bank to Offer China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System
China's alternative to the SWIFT international payment network is now available in Africa, following the announcement by Standard Bank, the continent's largest bank in terms of assets, as the first institution to offer the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS). This is ...
Senegal Signs Transport Deal in China
Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko signed a deal aimed at transforming his country’s public transport sector during his state visit to China. The deal would see the establishment of an industrial assembly facility that will produce gas and electric buses. It aims to replace 40,000 diesel buses. ...
Bots Pushed Anti-China Narrative Ahead of Ghana Mining Ban
By Nicholas Roll Before Ghana banned foreigners from its gold trade earlier this year, an online bot campaign pushed anti-Chinese sentiment, blaming Chinese nationals for exploiting the country and stealing its resources. The west African ...
Will China’s Trade Strategy in Africa Succeed Where Europe’s Didn’t?
At a recent ministerial meeting in the central Chinese city of Changsha, Beijing announced an ambitious new phase of its engagement with Africa: the possibility of eliminating customs duties on exports from all 53 African countries (except for Eswatini, which maintains diplomatic relations with Taiwan). While many ...
Africa-China Trade Fair Delivers $11.39 Billion in Deals
The fourth annual China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo (CAETE) concluded on Sunday with deals signed for 176 new projects, worth a total of $11.39 billion. The number of deals jumped by 45.8%, while the total value increased by 10.6% since the previous fair in 2023. ...