In the Aftermath of Guangzhou, Perceptions of China Sour Among African Civil Society

Chinese efforts to contain the fallout from the recent crisis in Guangzhou appear increasingly ineffectual among a large, and growing, swathe of Africans. Beijing has mounted a robust diplomatic and media campaign to persuade the continent's governing ...

Anti-African Racism Was Partly to Blame for What Happened in Guangzhou, But China’s Political System is the Bigger Reason

Chinese YouTuber Simon Yu provides a clear, concise explanation for why incentives within China's rigid meritocratic political system were largely to blame for the poor treatment of Africans and other foreigners in Guangzhou in recent weeks. In this 13-minute video, Yu says if one wants to understand ...

Amid Political Turmoil in Nigeria, Speaker of the House Femi Gbajabiamila Emerges as a Key Player in Managing the Crisis With China

Femi Gbajabiamila has emerged as a central player in managing his country's various recent crises with China, including the uproar over the arrival of a 15-member Chinese medical team, and the ongoing disputes over reports of discrimination and maltreatment of Nigerians in the southern Chinese city of ...

Even Though It’s Been Repeatedly Proven False, U.S. Politicians Just Love That Chinese “Debt Trap” Theory

Gyude Moore has clearly had enough of U.S. politicians promoting the debunked Chinese "debt trap" theory in Africa. The former Liberian public works minister and now a senior policy fellow at the Center for Global Development in Washington, ...

The Thorny Politics of Gratitude

The COVID-19 crisis is nothing if not instructive. It has functioned like an X-ray, revealing hidden weaknesses in systems across the world. This isn't only true in the narrow sense, relating to health care, insurance, and protective gear manufacturing systems. It's also true in the wider, political ...

The China-Mediterranean Observer: COVID-19 Rattles an Already Volatile Region

As cases of COVID-19 have increased, the pandemic has accordingly become the main topic of discussion in the media of the wider Mediterranean region as many are worried about the health and economic damages that it will cause. Indeed, regardless of the geographical position, there has emerged ...

China’s #2 Diplomat in Zimbabwe Pioneers New Public Diplomacy Tool: An Open Zoom Chat

Zhao Baogang, China's deputy ambassador in Zimbabwe, went on Twitter over the weekend to ask if anyone was interested in joining him for a group chat on Zoom to discuss the recent allegations of mistreatment and discrimination against Africans in Guangzhou. "Many are interested in  china-africa relations,we ...

Now More Than Ever, FOCAC Must Absorb Shocks to China-Africa Ties

This year, the Forum for China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) marks its 20th anniversary. As it turns 20, FOCAC’s role in shaping Sino-African relations has been remarkable. The forum is remarkable for many reasons. It shows China’s willingness to engage ...

Nigerian Leaders Say Everything With China is “Sorted Out” Over What Happened in Guangzhou

Less than one week after the situation in Guangzhou erupted, two of Nigeria's top politicians moved as quickly as possible to put the issue to rest.  Both Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Onyeam and Speaker of the House of Representatives Femi Gbajabiamila declared that they're satisfied with China's handling ...

China May Be Patching Things Up With African Leaders Over What Happened in Guangzhou, But Persuading Everyone Else is Going to be Much More Difficult

While African foreign ministers and other high-ranking officials appear satisfied, at least publicly, with China's explanation for the forced evictions and other apparent maltreatment of African migrants in Guangzhou last week, vast portions of African civil society are not persuaded and feel quite bitter over the indignities ...

China Moves Quickly to Reassure Anxious African Governments that the Crisis in Guangzhou has been Resolved

For the second time in less than a week, Chinese ambassadors in Africa fanned out to foreign ministries across the continent, this time as part of Beijing's effort to reassure foreign ministers in various countries that the situation in Guangzhou has now been resolved and also to ...

After Guangzhou, China-Africa Relations Return to Normal but Big Problems Loom Below the Surface

The squall caused by the eviction and mistreatment of Africans in Guangzhou is dying down, and the China-Africa relationship seems to be heading back to its usual state: glassy calm on the surface with massive currents deep below. The fact that ...
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