With U.S.-South Africa ties in the deep freeze, it was notable to see the sheer size of the U.S. delegation sent to this week’s Mining Indaba in Cape Town – one of the most prominent industry gatherings and one of the few where the Global South gets a prominent voice.
The Trump administration’s famous Afrophobia seems (momentarily at least) tempered by its greed for minerals. It is reportedly walking ...
Category: China-Africa
Looking Beyond “Useful Africa” at the Mining Indaba
With U.S.-South Africa ties in the deep freeze, it was notable to see the sheer size of the U.S. delegation sent to this week’s Mining Indaba in Cape Town – one of the most prominent industry gatherings and one of the few where the Global South ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
Congo Offers Tantalum Deposit Under M23 Control to U.S. in Minerals Pact, Document Shows
By Ange Kasongo and Maxwell Akalaare Adombila The Democratic Republic of Congo added the rebel-held Rubaya coltan mine, one of the world's richest tantalum deposits, to a shortlist of strategic assets it is offering to the U.S. under a ...
WTO Head Calls for New Chinese Growth Model
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the head of the World Trade Organization, called on China to change its model of growth because of its impact on global trade surpluses. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, she said that while China wants to support the ...
China Announces Date for African Tariff-Free Market Access
Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that goods from 53 African countries will have duty-free access to the Chinese market from 1 May 2026. In a message sent to the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa on Saturday, Xi said universal zero-tariff ...
Can Africa Win as the West and China Scramble for Minerals?
By Clyde Russell Two multi-billion-dollar rail projects in Africa. One headed west, the other east. One backed by Western countries, the other by China. Both are aiming to ship vast quantities of critical minerals. Welcome to the new scramble for Africa. ...
China’s Zijin to Launch Congo’s First Lithium Output in June From Disputed Manono Deposit
By Maxwell Akalaare Adombila China’s Zijin Mining will initiate Congo’s first lithium output in June from the disputed Manono deposit and move immediately to exports, the company and state miner Cominiere said, marking a major step in Beijing’s push to secure ...
Oil-Rich Angola Makes First Major Copper Exports
By Brian Benza Angola's first major copper mine shipped its first concentrates in January, an official said on Tuesday, the first such exports of the clean energy metal as the oil-rich African country diversifies its mineral resources income. ...
China’s Export Surge to Africa in 2025 Complicates Efforts to Rebalance Trade
In 2025, trade between China and Africa reached $348 billion, a 17.7% increase from 2024. As in the previous year, this growth was largely driven by rising Chinese exports, which amounted to $225 billion, compared to $123 billion in imports from the African continent.
South Africa Takes Step Towards Trade Deal With China
South Africa said on Friday that its trade minister had signed a framework economic partnership agreement on a visit to China, which it described as a step towards securing duty-free access to the Chinese market for South African exports. Africa's biggest ...
Anger Mounts in Senegal Over Chinese Firm’s Sanitary Pad Scandal
Anger is mounting in Senegal over the alleged use of expired materials in sanitary pads and diapers by a leading Chinese firm, which denies any wrongdoing or bribery. The West African country's pharmaceutical regulator late last year accused Softcare of possessing ...
China’s Electric Buses in Africa: Clean Transport or a New Dependency?
African cities are growing, increasing demand for transport, and, in the process, choking even faster from diesel-belching public transport vehicles, which remain the backbone of urban life. In this episode of The Africa EV Show, ...
New Data Reveals China’s Complex Role in Africa’s Debt Portfolio
China was once Africa's largest bilateral creditor, but now, as many of those loans come due, it's become the continent's largest bilateral collector, according to a new report by the UK-based NGO ONE Data. The so-called "Great Reversal" that ONE Data identified highlights how ...
Senior Kenyan Diplomat Visits Beijing as Nairobi Deepens Development Talks With China
Kenya's Principal Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Korir Sing'Oei, is in Beijing this week for talks with senior Chinese development and finance officials. Sing'Oei's first stop on Monday was at the headquarters of the China-Africa Development Fund, where he met with senior ...