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: Geopolitics
A Glimmer of Hope in the Middle of a Dark Tunnel
By Lukas Fiala As someone working on international affairs in today’s world, it’s rare to end the week on an optimistic note. Yet, sometimes even the darkest of times offer a glimpse of hope. Chinese President Xi Jinping’s return to in-person ...
Xi Jinping’s Summit Tour Continues to APEC in Thailand
This week’s carnival of summitry continues with the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) ministerial meeting in Bangkok. While many leaders - including China’s President Xi Jinping - are continuing straight to Thailand from the G20 summit in Bali earlier this week, U.S. President Joe Biden ...
Xi Champions Developing Country Causes in G20 Speech
Chinese President Xi Jinping used his opening day address at the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, to reassert Beijing's self-appointed role as the world's preeminent developing country. President Xi dedicated the bulk of his speech on Tuesday to a wide range of critical issues confronting countries in ...
Why Détente Between China and Australia Could Be a Problem for Some Developing Countries
Anthony Albanese is the first Australian Prime Minister in six years to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and from the looks of their brief meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali on Tuesday, there's a glimmer of optimism that the strained ...
Africa’s Dangerous Ignorance of China
Last week’s news was dominated by the publication, on Sunday, November 6, 2022, of part of the Kenyan SGR contract. It was far from the entire contract promised by the new Kenyan transport minister, but it was still a step towards transparency after years of ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
Jiang Zemin Created the Africa-China Relationship As We Know It Today
Africa in the Background as Geopolitics Dominate the G20
The G20 summit in Bali is firmly focused on great power politics, with few Global South issues getting any oxygen so far. The meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping unsurprisingly dominated the coverage. ...
Biden in Asia Moves to Bolster the U.S. Against China
U.S. President Joe Biden landed on the Indonesian island of Bali late Sunday night ahead of the G20 leaders' summit, where he is also expected to meet with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. Monday's meeting between the two leaders will be the first ...
Biden Expressed Concern to Cambodia PM Hun Sen About What China’s Doing at the Ream Navy Base
U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday raised concerns with the leader of Cambodia about Chinese activities at its Ream Naval Base, stressing the importance of full transparency, the White House said. But Chinese state media didn't take well ...
China’s Growing Influence in West Africa
As former colonial powers like France and the United Kingdom lose their relevance in West Africa, the region is pivoting to China. This trend comes as China’s own confidence in West Africa is growing, despite relatively slow engagement compared to other parts of the ...
More Evidence that the Africa-China Relationship is Increasingly Driven by Politics, Not Commodities
For centuries, many assumed that Africa's greatest contribution to the global economy was through selling stuff that comes out of the ground. That was certainly what drew the Chinese to Africa back in the early 2000s. Today that's no longer the case.