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: Development
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor 2.0 — A New Risk Management Strategy
By Saniya Kulkarni With all eyes on Beijing’s response to the ongoing protests in China, it appears Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is making headway in mitigating growing unrest in the southwestern province of Balochistan. The resource-rich region is home to ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
Jiang Zemin Created the Africa-China Relationship As We Know It Today
EU’s Answer to China’s BRI Takes Shape in Africa
The European Union unveiled a $776 million infrastructure financing package for Africa on Tuesday as part of its Global Gateway initiative that is aimed at challenging China's growing influence in developing regions. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen ...
Billion Dollar Infrastructure Fund Reveals China’s New Development Finance Priorities and Tactics
The Chinese government is leveraging private capital to bolster its infrastructure development finance agenda in developing countries, particularly in Southeast Asia. The China Exim Bank, one of China's two main policy banks, announced this week that it teamed ...
Thailand’s Chinese-financed High Speed Railway Gets Boost After Xi Visit to Bangkok
The long-delayed 609-kilometer China-Thailand high-speed standard gauge railway is once again a top priority for both sides following Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Thailand last week, where the project topped the agenda in bilateral talks. With a price tag of ...
Zimbabwe’s Chinese-Built Parliament Building Ready for Business
Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa will formally inaugurate the country's new parliament building on Wednesday. The building was financed as a 'gift' by the Chinese government and built by Shanghai Construction Group Co. After the inauguration, Mnangagwa will deliver his annual ...
China’s Paid-In Capital on the Rise – Here’s What to Know
By Oyintarelado Moses and Laura Gormley Since 2007, Chinese special investment funds targeting overseas development projects have been on the rise. These funds are pools of capital established by multiple public and/or private shareholders that primarily provide equity financing to projects ...
Kenya’s Transport Minister to Chinese Ambassador: No Hard Feelings About the Release of SGR Loan Agreements, Right?
Kenya's Road and Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen was all smiles last week when Chinese ambassador Zhou Pingjian made a courtesy call to his office in what appears to be an effort to show that ties between the two had not been impacted by the ...
China’s COVID Response Boosts Foreign Aid
China's donations of physical aid jumped by 40% last year to $1.3 billion. The bulk of these donations were in response to the COVID pandemic, including vaccines and food.
U.S.-led Coalition Rolls Out First Major Infrastructure Project Under the New Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment
The G7 group of wealthy countries unveiled the first major initiative as part of its Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII), which is ostensibly aimed at countering China's dominance in financing infrastructure in developing countries. The coalition announced a $20 ...
China-Linked Group Will Run Angolan Transport Corridor
The Angolan government has signed a $450 million agreement with the Portuguese infrastructure group Mota-Engil to run rail and logistics in the Lobito Transport Corridor, which connects Lobito Port to the mining zone in the southern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Kenya’s Supreme Court to Weigh In on SGR Contract
Kenya’s Supreme Court will rule on the legality of the country’s Standard Gauge Railway contract. Opponents say the contract being awarded to China Road and Bridge Corp contravened Kenya’s competitive tender rules. The ruling will ...