Category: Politics
China’s Communist Youth League Asks “Who’s Better For Africa? China or the U.S.?” (Guess Who They Picked?)
The Central Committee of China's influential Communist Youth League (CYL) published a rather comical (unintentionally of course) comparison between U.S. and Chinese engagement in Africa that made the case as to why China, not surprisingly, is the more optimal partner for the continent.
DOUBLE EPISODE: Andy Mok Reflects on FOCAC Plus a Discussion About Bad China-Africa Journalism
With the end of the year fast approaching and time running out to get everything into the last remaining shows of the season, we're bringing you a special double episode this week. First, join us ...
Nigeria’s Controversial Transport Minister Will Likely Run For President Touting the Success of New Chinese-Built Railways
Nigeria's high-profile and rather controversial transportation minister Rotimi Amaechi is under mounting pressure from political allies to run for president in the upcoming election scheduled for 2023. And if he does run, there are indications he's going to put ...
The New U.S. Strategy for the Indo-Pacific Region Sounds a Lot Like Washington’s New Approach to Africa
Secretary of State Antony Blinken doesn't want developing countries to feel they have to choose between the U.S. and China. He also wants to discourage these countries from building costly low-quality infrastructure and vowed that Washington will now be more committed to their region. ...
South African Foreign Policy Too Much of a “Mess” For China to Exert Significant Influence Analyst Tells Sky News Australia
An interesting exchange took place on a recent episode of the Global Focus program on Sky News Australia where host Chris Pyne wanted to know from fellow Australian author and Africa scholar Jamie Miller whether China is exerting undue economic and political influence in South Africa.
What Does ‘African Agency’ Actually Look Like? We’ll See…
The moral panic in Uganda about a possible Chinese seizure of the Entebbe airport as a result of a loan default is a rare example of a trend that’s both trivial and serious. In the former sense, the panic is based on misreporting. The loan is still ...
Zambia’s Bondholders Want More Info on IMF Deal, Renew Calls For All Creditors to be Treated the Same
Some of Zambia's bondholders are once again expressing impatience with the government's handling of its debt relief talks and they've gone public with their longstanding demands for greater transparency in the process and equal treatment for all creditors. "Inter-creditor equity should ...
Between ‘a’ Vision and ‘the’ Vision Lies Division
Everyone is cramming in a last flurry of calls and briefings and ‘quickly touching base on’ before the end of the year. It made my week so jam-packed that I can literally not recall what I said to whom. One through-line, however, has been values. This is ...
The Chinese Government Briefs Diaspora in Africa on FOCAC and Also Wants to Make Sure Everyone’s Sufficiently Patriotic
China's Ambassador to Botswana, Wang Xuefeng, led a post-FOCAC briefing of overseas Chinese diaspora from Africa to bring them up to speed on everything that happened at the conference in Dakar and just to make sure they're all aligned when it comes to key issues like Xi Jinping ...
Tshisekedi Sacks Head of DRC’s State Mining Company Just Weeks After Release of Blockbuster Corruption Investigation
DR Congo President Félix Tshisekedi fired the powerful head of the country's state-run mining company Gécamines on Friday in an apparent effort to gain control of the narrative following last week's release of a damning international investigation that revealed widespread corruption at the firm.
FOCAC 8 Concludes With China-Africa Relations Now Heading in a New Direction
Senegalese Foreign Minister Aïssata Tall Sall brought this week's Forum on China-Africa Cooperation ministerial conference to a close on Tuesday at a press briefing with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. Sall conveyed what appears to be the consensus among attendees, both African ...
The Governor in the Heart of DR Congo’s Mining Belt Wants to Put Aside Differences With the Chinese Company Sicomines
Fyfy Masuka, the powerful interim governor of the DR Congo's cobalt-rich Lualaba province, wants to ease tensions with the Chinese-run mining company Sicomines. Masuka met with Senate Speaker Modeste Bahati Lukwebo and representatives from Sicomines in Kinshasa. The meeting was an effort to try and resolve some of ...