After several years of declining funding, the African end of the Belt and Road Initiative seems to be roaring back. The newest Griffith University/Green Development Finance Center data on the Belt and Road Initiative shows that engagement with Africa jumped by 395%, while a few big projects boosted engagement in Nigeria alone more than twelvefold.
These shifts indicate a window of opportunity for African electrification. 60% of Africans still ...
Category: Religion
China’s Hainan Islamic Pilgrimage Stopover Reveals Bigger Plans
China is quietly transforming the island of Hainan, located 20 kilometers offshore in the South China Sea, into a strategic transit hub for Muslim pilgrims from Southeast Asia, starting with Indonesian travelers seeking to make the pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, known as Umrah.
China Space at Istiqlal Mosque: Stepping Up Muslim Diplomacy in Indonesia
This article is co-authored by Yeta Purnama, a researcher at the Center of Economic and Law Studies (CELIOS), and Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat, Director of the China-Indonesia Desk at CELIOS. On September 5, 2024, the Chinese Embassy in Indonesia launched what it ...
Indonesia Is Handing Out Coal Mines To Religious Groups. Here’s Why China Stands To Benefit
This article is co-authored by Antonia Timmerman, Southeast Asia Editor at the China-Global South Project, Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat, Director of the China-Indonesia Desk at the Center of Economic and Law Studies (CELIOS), and Yeta Purnama, researcher at CELIOS. Indonesia found ...
Algeria’s Controversial Chinese-Built Mosque Is Finally Open
Algeria inaugurated the Great Mosque of Algiers on Sunday, the largest Muslim place of worship in Africa, for which construction was completed in 2019. Built by a Chinese firm, the project is controversial because of delays and the huge cost involved ...
Gulf Countries’ Silence on China Uyghur Issue Becomes Focal Point in Anti-Islam Dispute With India
The escalating dispute between India and Persian Gulf governments over incendiary anti-Islamic comments made by the ruling BJP's national spokeswoman Nupur Sharma over the weekend is now drawing attention to Gulf countries' noticeable silence over the years on anything related to the treatment of China's Muslim ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
Wang Yi Makes First-Ever Appearance by a Chinese FM at Meeting of World’s Largest Islamic Body
Wang Yi made history on Tuesday by becoming the first Chinese foreign minister invited to the annual meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the largest international organization of Muslim countries. Wang attended the gathering in Islamabad, Pakistan as a special guest.
Algeria Opened the New Chinese-Built Mega Mosque
Algeria's new Grand Mosque, the largest mosque in Africa, hosted its first public prayers yesterday -- 18 months after the China State Construction Engineering Corporation completed construction. The new mosque, known locally as the Djamaa El-Djazair, occupies ...
Finding God on the Belt and Road. Kenyan Missionaries are Converting Chinese Migrant Workers.
Christian missionaries in Kenya are finding a new source of converts among the immigrant Chinese population that came to the country to build infrastructure. Kenyan evangelists, some of whom speak fluent Mandarin, are discovering even though their religion and cultural backgrounds ...
The Unintended Religious Consequence of Chinese Investment in Africa
For many of the hundreds of thousands of Chinese who live and work in Africa, life is often is not easy. Low pay, long hours and extended assignments in unfamiliar cultures often lead to feelings of isolation and disillusionment. Connections with friends and family ...
Religion Among African Immigrants in China
Nestled in apartments and offices throughout the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou are dozens of improvised churches that cater to the region's Pentacostal Africans, largely from Nigeria. These churches not only serve the community's religious needs but also act as a sort of cultural ...