Italy has announced its formal withdrawal from the Belt and Road Initiative after joining the China-centered infrastructure and investment project in 2019.
The timing of the announcement that Rome won’t renew its BRI commitment is notable. It came only a day before the EU-China summit, which kicks off on Thursday. The summit will likely be more contentious than usual, with European leaders expected to push China on the treatment of EU firms amid discussions ...
Category: Mandarin
Q&A: Why is Benin on Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang’s African Tour Itinerary?
The newly appointed head of Chinese diplomacy, Qin Gang, has begun his first African tour which will take him to five countries. A visit that is part of the long tradition of Chinese diplomacy to reserve the first overseas tour to the African continent. ...
DRC Military Officials Are Learning Chinese
The Congolese Military Language Institute will set up a Confucius Institute classroom to help soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo to learn Chinese. This follows a recent announcement that the Sudanese army is also implementing the teaching of Mandarin. This will be the second ...
Nairobi Expressway Causes Controversies Amid Excitement
Even as Nairobi residents are buzzing with excitement about their new expressway, which will shave hours off cross-city commutes, the Chinese-built project is also raising popular jitters. Two recent controversies have highlighted the anxieties the project is raising about Chinese influence ...
Sudan’s First Confucius Institute Strengthens Military Ties
The Sudanese army is going to learn to speak Chinese! Well, at least a small contingent will. This follows the opening of the country’s first Confucius Institute at the University of Khartoum this week. The CI’s inaugural class will be made ...
The U.S. and Europe May No Longer Want Confucius Institutes, But That is Not the Case in Africa
The Chinese language and cultural centers known as Confucius Institutes long fell out of favor in the United States and Europe, where critics accused the Chinese government-backed initiative of being a vector for propaganda. That is not the ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
Awkward Timing as Italy Withdraws from BRI
Meet Nigeria’s First Female Train Conductor (Who Also Happens to be Fluent in Mandarin)
The state-owned China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) that built the new Lagos-to-Ibadan standard gauge railway in Nigeria, published a cute corporate video recently that showcased the country's first female train conductor. Introduced only by her Chinese name Bai Yang, she ...
Senegalese Government Officials Are Ready to Say 你好 (Hello) to Thousands of Chinese Visitors Attending Next Week’s FOCAC
Dozens of Senegalese officials from throughout the government have completed a Chinese language and culture training program at the University of Dakar's Confucius Institute in preparation for next week's Forum on China-Africa Cooperation conference that will take place next week. The ...
A Group of South African Tourist Guides Graduated From a Chinese Language and Culture Program… But There’s One Small Problem Though
16 tour guides in South Africa graduated on Friday from a six-week program that taught them Chinese language and culture in the hope they'll be able to better support what was once one of the fastest-growing sources of tourism to SA.
South Africa is Training More Tour Guides to Speak Chinese
Thanks to direct flights and a streamlined visa approval process, visitors from China were among the fastest-growing segment in South Africa's tourism market. At least, that was before the COVID-19 outbreak. But once the borders open again and travel resumes, South ...
Madagascar’s Military Will Soon Learn to Say 你好 (Hello)
Officials in Madagascar's Ministry of Defense will soon have the chance to study Mandarin thanks to a new program set up by the embassy's new military office in Antananarivo. The objective of the course is to facilitate "broader, smoother and sounder communication" between the two militaries.