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: Ports
Loan Revelations Spark New Confusion Over Whether Kenya’s Port of Mombasa Can Be Seized by China
There is renewed anxiety in Kenya over whether the Port the Mombasa is at risk of being seized by Chinese creditors in the event that the government fails to repay the loan for the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR).
China Harbour Completes Construction of West Africa’s Largest Deep Water Port in Nigeria
The state-owned China Harbour Engineering Company completed construction of the $1.5 billion Lekki Deep Sea Port near Lagos and officially handed over the facility to its Nigerian partners. Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said the new port will generate 200,000 jobs ...
Massive Supply Chain Disruptions Expected on Key China-Africa Trade Route Due to South African Labor Unrest
Key strategic resources exported via South African ports to China are expected to face severe disruptions in the coming days and weeks in response to the declaration of force majeure by SA's state-run logistics operator Transet in response to the escalating labor strife with its ...
Chinese-Invested Portuguese Company Wins Crucial Logistics Concession in Angola
Portuguese construction major Mota-Engil outbid three Chinese state-owned companies, CITIC, Sinotrans, and CR20, to win a 30-year concession to operate the strategically important Lobito Corridor that connects the copper/cobalt belt in the southern DRC and northern Zambia with the port of Lobito in Angola. ...
Kenyan Parliament to Investigate Debunked SGR Rumors
A Kenyan parliamentary oversight committee wants to review the controversial contract for the Chinese-built Standard Gauge Railway. But rather than addressing the contract’s opacity, it will again focus on the rumor that it puts up Mombasa port as collateral - a rumor that has been debunked ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
Jiang Zemin Created the Africa-China Relationship As We Know It Today
DRC Cobalt Shipments to China Resume Via the Port of Durban
Cargo vessels loaded with Congolese cobalt are once again making their way to China now that port operations in Durban are beginning to recover. The port was shut for weeks after severe floods last month blocked the roads and railways that transport the ...
China’s Economic Slowdown Felt All the Way at the Port of Mombasa While Namibia’s Port Expands to Grab More DRC Cargo
?? Kenyan shipping officials say the lockdowns in China and the long delays for vessels to dock in Chinese ports are having a major impact on the volumes of cargo processed at the Ports of Mombasa and Dar es Salaam. (THE EAST AFRICAN)
Chinese Trade With Africa Surged in First Quarter But Expected to Slow Dramatically
Chinese trade with Africa rocketed up 24.5% in the first three months of 2022 compared to the same time last year, according to the new data released by China's customs authorities. At a continental level, trade levels were ...
Glencore Calls Force Majeure on Cobalt Exports as Durban Flooding Worsens Chinese Shipping Crisis
Glencore, the world’s largest cobalt producer, announced that it can’t fulfill its delivery commitments for cobalt hydroxide out of the Democratic Republic of Congo, due to severe flooding in the South African port city of Durban. The majority of cobalt exports from the DRC depart ...
Durban Port is Now Functional After Flooding Shutdown
South Africa’s key port of Durban is functional again after operations were disrupted by deadly flooding last week. The port now has to deal with a backlog of between 8,000 and 9,000 shipping containers. South Africa’s Minister of Public Enterprises, Pravin Gordhan told ...