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: Business
When Ideology Meets Inflation, Argentina’s Milei Turns to China
The cry “Cambio! Cambio! Cambio!” rings out along Calle Florida, the bustling commercial artery of Buenos Aires. Dozens of unofficial money changers—many of them migrants from Chile, Venezuela, and Bolivia—line the street, calling out to passersby. They offer mercado azul, or the “blue market” exchange rates, trading ...
China Denies Rafale Smear, France Points Finger, Indonesia Silent
China has forcefully denied allegations from France that it mounted a coordinated campaign to undermine and sabotage sales of France’s Rafale fighter jet, pushing back against claims made by French intelligence that Beijing used its embassies and online influence to steer countries like Indonesia toward Chinese-made alternatives ...
Asian Stocks Mixed as Traders Shrug at U.S.-Vietnam Trade Deal
Stocks struggled in Asia on Thursday as investors gave a lukewarm reception to the U.S.-Vietnam trade deal, while the dollar eased ahead of key U.S. jobs data that could impact Federal Reserve interest rates plans. Attention was also on Washington as ...
Youthful Technicians Building Malawi’s E-bikes Driven by Chinese Tech
An electric vehicle (EV) company in Malawi, one of the continent’s smallest and landlocked economies, is making groundbreaking efforts to electrify transportation in the country, which is also one of the poorest in the world. Despite the challenges of raising capital ...
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 ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
Startup in Malawi Bets on Chinese Tech to Power an EV Shift
For years, Malawi, the world’s fourth-poorest country, has suffered from chronic fuel shortages. However, in a sunbaked workshop on the outskirts of the capital, Lilongwe, a team of local electric vehicle (EV) technicians is working to overcome this anomaly. Huddled around ...
Chinese-Moroccan Joint Venture Inaugurates EV Battery Parts Plant
A Chinese-Moroccan joint venture announced on Wednesday the inauguration of a new factory for electric car battery components, the first of its kind in the North African country. The complex will ultimately have a production "capacity equivalent to 70 GWh per ...
Africa EV Digest: Tesla Opens Africa Office, Upping Competition For Chinese Brands
This is a free preview of the upcoming Africa EV Weekly Digest, part of the new CGSP Intelligence service launching in Summer 2025. Topline Insight Tesla’s Africa expansion through its new Morocco office ...
China Floats Ideas for “Multipolar” Currency System to Balance U.S. Dollar
China announced several new initiatives aimed at increasing global trade in the yuan and to hedge against the dominance of the U.S. dollar. Pan Gongsheng, the governor of the People’s Bank of China, proposed a future where the global financial system would rely on several currencies.
From Phones to E-Bikes: China’s Transsion Targets Africa’s Mobility Sector
For almost two decades, the Chinese smartphone giant behind Africa’s most popular mobile brands -Tecno, Infinix, and Itel- has grown to dominate the continent’s handset market. Now, it is making a bold move into Africa’s booming electric mobility sector with its TankVolt e-bikes, which have already become ...
From J-10C to Kaan? Indonesia’s Fighter Jet Deal With Turkey Shocks Chinese Military Fans
Just one week after Chinese military enthusiasts were celebrating the possibility of Indonesia buying China’s J-10C fighter jet, news broke on June 11 that Türkiye has signed a deal to export 48 units of its fifth-generation Kaan fighter to Indonesia. The sudden shift left many Chinese observers ...
EV Overtake Hybrids in Indonesia, Car Market Shrinks 15% in May
Indonesia’s car market shrank sharply in May, with wholesale vehicle sales plunging 15.1% year-on-year, as high borrowing costs, weak consumer sentiment, and sluggish wage growth continued to weigh on Southeast Asia’s largest automotive economy. Yet amid the broader contraction, one ...