Category: Caribbean

Small State, Big Gains: Why Dominica Matters in China’s Global Strategy

In contemporary international relations, the diplomacy of small states is of utmost importance. Though grand geopolitical narratives often overshadow this fact, one major power has not forgotten: China. Putting aside its broader strategic objectives, Beijing has excelled in small-state diplomacy. The numbers don’t lie; China has the ...

A Chinese Scholar Uncovers Cuba’s Chinese Migrant Past

When the U.S. Prohibition Act (1920–1933) banned alcohol, it unexpectedly turned Cuba into a vice paradise—and reshaped the destiny of Chinese migrants fleeing America’s anti-Chinese racism. As thirsty Americans flooded Havana’s bars and casinos, the island’s economy boomed. Meanwhile, the Chinese ...

U.S. Seeks to Bolster Ties in the Caribbean to Fend Off Chinese Advance

Top diplomats from China and the U.S. were in the Caribbean at the same time in what's widely seen as the newest front in the escalating geopolitical competition between the two major powers. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in 

WSJ: China Negotiating With Cuba to Set up Joint Military Training Base

China is reportedly in talks with Cuba to set up a joint military base that could potentially lead to the deployment of PLA soldiers within a couple of hundred kilometers of the United States, according to a new report in the Wall Street Journal. ...

China’s Low Profile Diplomacy in the Caribbean

China is steadily, albeit quietly, deepening its ties in the Caribbean region using many of the same techniques that it did in the early 2000s when it ramped up its engagement in Africa. The Chinese are buying more agriculture, building infrastructure, ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

Plugging into African Agency

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 lack ...