Category: China-Africa
Q&A: China’s ‘Feeling the Stones’ Approach to African Security Takes Shape
Chinese military engagement in Africa is rapidly expanding across all fronts. From peacekeeping deployments and military training programs to private security firms and dual-use infrastructure, Beijing’s approach to African security is layered, evolving, and at times opaque. But it's not clear if there's a grand strategy at ...
How China Pays to Shape the Narrative in East Africa
In this new era of reduced advertising and declining readership, East African newspapers, such as The Star in Kenya, are thrilled when entities like the Chinese government approach them for long-term paid partnerships. Last week, the paper signed a year-long deal ...
South African Leader Explores Supply Chain Links in China
South Africa’s Deputy President Paul Mashatile visited China this week as the country reeled from the news that the United States is imposing 30% tariffs on South African exports. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the China International Supply Chain ...
The Evolution of China-Africa Research and Where It’s Headed
A new generation of scholars is reshaping China-Africa research. More geographically diverse and digitally fluent than the field’s early pioneers of the 2000s, this cohort brings fresh perspectives and tools to the study of China’s engagement on the continent.
Chinese Premier’s Visit Signals Deepening Relationship with Egypt
Chinese Premier Li Qiang arrived in Egypt on Wednesday for a two-day state visit, the newest sign of the deepening relationship between the two countries. Li was received by Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, and in an address shortly after ...
A Display of Power, Not Partnership, in Washington
This is a is a long overdue column that I intended to write back in March after South African President Cyril Ramaphosa left Washington after that now infamous joint press conference in the Oval Office where he was ambushed by U.S. President Donald Trump for challenging the ...
South Africa Should be Wary of China’s Zero-Tariff Offer, Warns Top Agricultural Expert
South African farmers are among those who stand to benefit the most from China's new proposal to remove tariffs on exports from 53 African countries. China sources just 0.4% of its agriculture from South Africa, a figure that is widely expected ...
Wang Yi Conducts Speed Diplomacy With Nine African Foreign Ministers
China's top diplomat Wang Yi conducted another one of his signature rounds of speed diplomacy with foreign ministers from at least nine African countries on the sidelines of a ministerial gathering this week in central Hunan province. Specific details of the ...
Africa Now Has Duty-Free Access to the China Market, Now What?
Last year, in January, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni called on China to do more to open its vast market to African goods by removing trade tariffs for the entire continent. This week, Museveni got what he asked for when China removed ...
In a Swipe at the U.S., China Removes Tariffs for Nearly Every African Country
China will remove all trade tariffs on imported goods from 53 African countries in a move that starkly contrasts with U.S. President Donald Trump's pro-tariff agenda. Foreign Minister Wang Yi announced the policy on Wednesday at the conclusion of a gathering ...
Model Meets Reality: The Africa–China Export Forecast That Delivered
In an era where economic uncertainty often renders forecasts obsolete before they materialize, Africa’s export performance to China between 2022 and 2026 stands out as a compelling exception. Projections that I made together with Professor Reon Matemane, an associate professor at the University of Pretoria, in ...
Ruto’s Beijing Visit Emphasizes Development, Jobs
Kenyan President William Ruto said his country wants to deepen its cooperation with China in order to boost its modernization drive. This alignment with the Chinese official language is arguably an early sign of the geopolitical significance of the visit. Ruto is the first African leader to visit China ...