Félix Tshisekedi, the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, left for a trip to Beijing last week amid sky-high expectations of both new deals and the significant reworking of current agreements widely seen in his country as favoring Chinese actors. None of this happened.
Instead, he returned with a fistful of non-binding MoUs to widespread dissatisfaction back home. Since then, DRC officials have worked overtime to try and spin the trip as a longer-term ...
Category: Soft Power
The Case for More U.S. Soft Power to Counter China in the Global South
China is one of the very few truly bipartisan issues in Washington today where there is near unanimous consensus that the U.S. must work to counter Beijing's growing influence around the world, especially in developing countries.
Chinese Astronauts Reach Out to African Kids
Three Chinese astronauts are holding a live chat with African youth directly from China's orbiting space station today. The live Q&A session, scheduled for 11:00 GMT, is arguably a powerful soft power play on a continent where youth interest in space exploration and other forms ...
“New” Poll Reaffirms China Far Less Popular Than the U.S. as World Leader
The same week that a pan-African survey revealed that China, for the first time, outperformed the United States in overall favorability, another poll comparing the two major powers, this time by the geopolitical risk consultancy Eurasia Group Foundation, came out with very ...
Equatorial Guinea Media Donation Highlights a Key Chinese Soft Power Strategy
China is making diplomatic inroads in Equatorial Guinea via an old tactic: donating broadcasting equipment. This comes as the West African country faces a lot of U.S. pressure due to fears that it might host China’s first Atlantic military base. Qi Mei, ...
China’s Zero-COVID Policy and Travel Restrictions Leaves Thousands of Young Africans in Limbo
With China's borders all but sealed and no prospect of reopening soon as long as strict COVID-19 mitigation protocols are in effect, tens of thousands of African students are left wondering what's going to happen to their education at Chinese universities. ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
DRC Government Tries to Reframe Underwhelming Beijing Visit
The Chinese Future of African Television
In December 2021, the U.S. confirmed that President Joe Biden will boycott the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing in February. But already before the end of November, China had signaled it was working towards lessening the public diplomacy fallout of such gestures. As part of the ...
President Samia Suluhu Hassan Inaugurates Tanzania’s New Chinese-Financed/Built National Defense College
China's campaign to build critical government infrastructure in Africa (aka "Building Diplomacy") marked another accomplishment on Sunday when Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who also happens to be the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, commissioned the new National Defense College in Dar es Salaam.
China To Upgrade Equipment at Somalia’s Government-run Media Outlets
China's newly arrived ambassador to Somalia, Fei Shengchao, visited the broadcasting facilities of Radio Mogadishu and the Somali National Television last week and promised to help the government-run broadcasters to upgrade their outdated equipment.
One of China’s Most Powerful Political Leaders, Wang Yang, Meets Separately With Legislators From Brazzaville and Kinshasa
Wang Yang, a member of China's powerful Politburo and president of the country's rubber-stamp legislature, held separate meetings with legislative leaders from both sides of the Congo river. In Beijing, Wang held talks with Edouard Mokolo Wa Mpombo, first ...
First-Ever African Students Forum Convenes In Beijing
Students from 36 different African countries gathered in Beijing on Sunday to take part in the first-ever African students' forum organized by the China-Africa Institute with the support of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, one of the country's leading public policy think tanks. ...