Category: Geopolitics
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 to President Biden's apparent ...
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.
Climate, Geopolitics Greatest Threats to African Development: Study
For Africa to achieve its development potential, it needs uninterrupted cooperation with the United States, Europe, and China. This is a key finding of a recent set of future projections by the Institute for Security Studies in South Africa. The study outlined four ...
WEEK IN REVIEW: Canada To Become Newest Member of the U.S.-Led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF)
Canada will become the newest member of the U.S.-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), a loose group of Asia-Pacific countries ostensibly aimed at countering China. Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said the move is part of a new Canadian initiative to "deepen engagement with the U.S.” in the Asia-Pacific region. ...
China is Happy About Lula’s Win in Brazil, Despite Criticism
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s return to power could rejuvenate the relationship between Brazil and China and help to speed up the reform of the global order. So says Zhou Zhiwei, a researcher at the Latin America Institute at the Chinese Academy of Social ...
Does China Want Africa to “Choose Sides”? Maybe a Little Bit
China often assures African countries that they won’t be made to ‘choose sides’ in a new cold war. However, a recent op-ed by a prominent Africa-focused think tanker makes clear that Beijing increasingly sees the continent as a stage for geopolitical competition. Yao ...
Africa’s Cynical Democrats Face the Development Dilemma
The Biden administration frames its fight with China for influence in the Global South as a struggle between democracy and autocracy. Both sides argue that their systems boost development. The result is that Africa's development space is increasingly clogged with geopolitics. The prominent ...
C’Mon Joe! You Gotta Show Up If You Want to Be in The Game!
U.S. diplomats in the Bangkok embassy are no doubt gnashing their teeth over reports that started to circulate this week claiming U.S. President Joe Biden plans to skip the upcoming APEC summit that's set to take place in the Thai capital next month.
More Nuance Needed in Discussion About Xi’s Party Congress Speech and What It Signals About China’s Engagement in the Global South
A recent column by CGSP Editor-in-Chief Eric Olander that said Xi Jinping's speech at the 20th Party Congress last Sunday pointed to a re-prioritization of Chinese foreign policy objectives focused primarily on competition with the U.S. and fortifying its near-abroad sparked a robust discussion online.
G7 Finance Ministers Step Up Criticism of China Over Global South Debt Relief, China Blames U.S.
China's apparent refusal to send officials to last week's annual meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund prompted widespread criticism from G7 finance ministers who accused Beijing of not doing enough to help resolve the growing debt crisis in Africa and other developing regions.
WEEK IN REVIEW: A Massive Strike in South Africa Threatens to Cripple the Country’s Logistics Sector, Jeopardizing Vast Amounts of China-Bound Exports
A massive strike is now underway in South Africa that threatens to cripple the country's logistics sector, jeopardizing vast amounts of China-bound exports including strategic resources like cobalt. 76,000 workers at SA's state-run port and rail operator walked off the job to demand higher wages. Already one company, ...