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Category: Diplomacy

China’s Free Trade Agreements in the Global South: Quito and Beijing

By Alvaro Mendez and Chris Alden After eleven months and five rounds of negotiations, Ecuador announced last month that it has completed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China. It still has to obtain legislative approval, but we believe it will ...

Top State Department Official Says China’s Debt Relief Offer to Sri Lanka is “Not Enough”

Another senior U.S. diplomat has accused China of not doing enough to resolve Sri Lanka’s debt renegotiation, a sign that the island’s financial crisis is increasingly being framed geopolitically. U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Victoria Nuland said: "What China ...

China on Debt: It’s Not Us, It’s You

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning pushed back against recent allegations by senior Western officials that China is holding back debt restructuring in Zambia. Citing recent statistics from the Zambian government, Mao pointed out that Zambia’s debt burden is predominantly Western, with 24% ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

Top State Department Official Says China’s Debt Relief Offer to Sri Lanka is “Not Enough”

Another senior U.S. diplomat has accused China of not doing enough to resolve Sri Lanka’s debt renegotiation, a sign that the island’s financial crisis is increasingly being framed geopolitically.
U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Victoria Nuland said: “What China has offered so far is not enough. We need to see credible and specific assurances that they will meet the IMF standard of debt relief.”

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WEEK IN REVIEW: Kremlin Announced Chinese President Xi Jinping Will Visit Moscow

The Kremlin announced Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Moscow, although the Chinese Foreign Ministry hasn’t confirmed it yet. The visit will partly aim to deny growing distance between the allies on the Ukraine conflict, although it is unlikely to change China’s fundamental position. (SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST) ...

Why Linda Thomas-Greenfield’s Hot Take on Chinese Debt in Africa Is So Problematic

In a recent interview, the U.S. ambassador to the UN (and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Africa) weighed in on China's role in African debt distress in terms that could be described as 'blinkered' at best ('disingenuous' is another possibility): 

China-Argentina Call Reveals Closer Ties

China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang held a phone conversation with his Argentine counterpart Santiago Cafiero, the newest sign of the two countries’ increasing closeness. Argentina is a champion of closer cooperation between China and Latin America and plans to ...

Africa’s Largest Mining Conference Set Against Backdrop of Rising Competition Between China and the West

Attendees at next week's Mining Indaba in Cape Town, Africa's largest mining conference that gets underway on Monday, say they're expecting a new sense of urgency from U.S. and European stakeholders who are keen to find ways of breaking China's grip on critical resources like cobalt and ...

Given How Unreliable Electricity Service is in South Africa, It’s Not Surprising Huawei’s New Power Wall is Generating Buzz

Huawei may be under mounting pressure in the United States, where the government will reportedly expand sanctions against the Chinese tech giant to block all American technology transfers, but in South Africa, it's a totally different story. On the same day ...

U.S. Bid to Challenge China’s Dominance of the Battery Metal Supply Chain in Africa Faces Two Key Hurdles

Widely perceived as a major and concrete U.S. move to counter China in the supply chain of critical minerals in Africa, the U.S.-DR Congo-Zambia MoU signed last December in Washington, D.C., will confront significant challenges, mainly for the DRC and Zambia.  Both ...

State Department Sends Top Official to Asia and the Middle East to Bolster Ties Amid Rising Competition With China

Victoria Nuland, the State Department's under secretary for political affairs and one of Washington's most senior diplomats, arrived in the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu on Sunday -- the first stop on a three-nation, week-long tour that also includes Sri Lanka and Qatar. ...

Indian FM Accuses Opposition Leader of Intentionally Spreading False Information About China Border Issue

Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar accused rivals of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of intentionally spreading false information about the government's handling of the border disputes with China. Jaishankar refuted comments made by Congress Party ...

Dubious Rumor Spreading On Pakistani Twitter Xi Jinping Will Soon Visit

Unsubstantiated rumors started to spread on Pakistani Twitter over the weekend that Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit the country and, more specifically, inaugurate a new Chinese-built airport in the port city of Gwadar. There's good reason to ...

Now It’s the EU’s Turn to Try and Change South Africa’s Mind About Russia and Upcoming Joint Naval Exercises With China

The European Union's top foreign policy official Josep Borrell is the latest foreign dignitary to pass through Pretoria in what appears to be a vain effort to persuade South Africa's international relations minister Naledi Pandor to reconsider Pretoria's stance on Russia's invasion of Ukraine and 
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