Reflections on the legacy of Jiang Zemin, China’s president from 1993 to 2003, who passed away on Wednesday, emphasized how he presided over a decade of explosive economic growth. Fewer have pointed out that he was also a key architect of China’s current relationship with Africa.
After the Mao era, emblematized by Chinese involvement in African anti-colonial struggles, the relationship went dormant as China focused on building economic ties ...
Category: Business
Hunan Throws an Africa-China Fruit Trade Matchmaking Party
China’s Hunan province cemented its role as a hub for African agricultural trade via a recent matchmaking meeting to team up major Chinese fruit buyers with key African producers like South Africa and Kenya. It is an example of the innovative ways Hunan is boosting ...
How China Became a Global E-Vehicle Leader
While Western automotive industries are trying to figure out how to decouple their supply chains from the Chinese battery sector, Chinese commentators don’t seem particularly panicked. In fact, the e-vehicle industry is being touted as a national victory. This becomes clear ...
Tens of Thousands Cue for a Kilometer to Get Into Chinese Fast Fashion Pop-up Store in Brazil
Tens of thousands of Brazilians waited in line for hours last week for their chance to get into a pop-up store in São Paulo that was open for just five days by Chinese fast fashion giant Shein. On the last day, the line was more than a ...
Xi’s State-Centric Focus an Opportunity for Africa: Analyst
The South African analyst Steven Kuo wrote in a recent column in the financial daily Business Day that Chinese President Xi Jinping's third term heralds a shift towards state-owned enterprises: "That means there will be more Chinese private enterprises that are ...
Huawei Eyes Expansion in the DR Congo
A delegation of senior executives from Huawei's Africa division met on Friday with Congolese Prime Minister Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde at his office in Kinshasa to discuss "the DRC's digital development." No other details about the meeting were made available. Huawei is leaning ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
Jiang Zemin Created the Africa-China Relationship As We Know It Today
South Africa’s Naspers Denies Rumors It Plans to Dump Tencent Shares
South African tech investment firm Naspers denied rumors that it is in talks with the Chinese state-owned investment company CITIC to sell its $70 billion stake in the Chinese tech behemoth Tencent. The Cape Town-based company issued a statement ...
Chinese Automakers Look to Developing Countries to Boost Sales and Production
The war in Ukraine opened new production opportunities for Chinese automakers in Central Asia, while growing demand in Latin America and South Asia for SUVs and EVs has sparked a new sales push in those regions by some of China's largest car brands:
Global South Aids China’s Rise to Number 2 Global Car Exporter
China surpassed Germany to become the world’s second-largest car exporter, after Japan. New numbers from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers show that China moved up from the number three position it reached last year by displacing South Korea.
Apple’s Plan to Shift More Manufacturing From China to Elsewhere in Asia Takes Shape
Since the beginning of the year, there's been a steady drip of news coming from Apple about its plans to gradually end its decades-long reliance on China to manufacture the bulk of the company's products. First, there was word that
With Sales Slowing at Home, Chinese EV Giant BYD Looks to New Markets in the Global South
September sales of New Energy Vehicles (NEVs) in China increased at the slowest pace in five months, providing fresh hints that relentless COVID lockdowns and a slowing Chinese economy may be taking a toll on the Chinese consumer. ...