With U.S.-South Africa ties in the deep freeze, it was notable to see the sheer size of the U.S. delegation sent to this week’s Mining Indaba in Cape Town – one of the most prominent industry gatherings and one of the few where the Global South gets a prominent voice.
The Trump administration’s famous Afrophobia seems (momentarily at least) tempered by its greed for minerals. It is reportedly walking ...
Category: Economy
The Three Faces of Chinese Investment in Southeast Asia: SOEs, POEs, and MNEs
In 2025, China remained a top-three source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Southeast Asia, following only the U.S. and intra-Southeast Asian flows. While much of the investment falls under the umbrella of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), it is important to distinguish between broad ...
Congo’s Cobalt Curbs Expose China’s Critical Metals Weak Spot
By Andy Home China's dominance of critical mineral supply chains is not as absolute as it may appear. Cobalt is a case in point. China accounted for ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
Latin America Split Over How to Counter China’s Steel Surge
Argentina terminated anti-dumping duties on Chinese aluminum foil, removing trade barriers that had restricted shipments from China and reopening the market to Chinese producers. The move marks a notable shift in South America’s trade posture toward Chinese industrial exports, even as ...
WTO to Examine Chinese Complaint Over India Batteries, E-Vehicles
The World Trade Organization said Tuesday it would establish an expert panel to examine a Chinese complaint over Indian incentive schemes in the automotive and renewable energy sectors. The WTO said in a statement that its Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) had ...
Panama Wrests Control of Canal Ports From Hong Kong Group
Panamanian authorities took control of two ports on the Panama Canal from CK Hutchison on Monday after the Hong Kong-based conglomerate’s concession was annulled amid a row between the United States and China. The court ruling was the latest legal development affecting ...
CK Hutchison Says Panama Canal Port Workers Removed After Court-Ordered Takeover
Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison said on Tuesday that Panama authorities had threatened its employees with criminal prosecution if they defied orders to leave two strategic canal ports at the centre of a legal battle that has embroiled Beijing and Washington. ...
India and Brazil Strike Rare Earths Deal as Nations Seek Alternatives to China
By Abhaya Srivastava India and Brazil agreed to boost cooperation on critical minerals and rare earths on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said after talks in New Delhi with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
WEEK IN REVIEW: China, Russia, Iran Hold Naval Drills Near Hormuz
China joined Russia and Iran in joint naval drills near the Strait of Hormuz, deploying the guided-missile destroyer Urumqi and a supply ship. The exercises included maritime search-and-rescue and live-fire drills in waters critical to global oil shipments. (AL-MONITOR) The Philippines rebuked ...
China Slowdown Hits Rio Tinto Earnings Despite Revenue Gains
Mining giant Rio Tinto's net profit fell in 2025 as costs climbed and it took a hit from a slump in the Chinese economy, company results showed Thursday. The British-Australian firm said the results "demonstrate clear progress as we embed our ...
How China Plans to Dominate Global Trade Long After Trump
By Joe Cash China sees an opening to turn President Donald Trump's tariffs to its advantage by reshaping global trade in ways that would insulate its $19 trillion economy from U.S. pressure for the foreseeable future.
China’s New Beef Tariffs Shake Up Brazil Trade
Brazil is on track to burn through its entire annual beef export quota to China by September, researchers warned Tuesday, setting up a potential price collapse that could ripple through the country's most important agricultural sector. The alarm was raised by ...
China E-Mobility Weekly Digest: Africa’s EV Minerals Processing Shifts Manufacturing as Electricity Revenues Grow
This is a free preview of the Africa EVs Weekly Digest, part of the new CGSP Intelligence service. From Kenya’s green number plates to South Africa’s industrial incentives, a number of African governments are moving beyond small electric vehicle ...
Seeking Mexico Foothold, China’s BYD and Geely Bid to Buy Car Plant
Two of China's leading automakers, BYD and Geely, are among the finalists vying to purchase a Nissan–Mercedes-Benz plant in Mexico, according to a person familiar with the matter, as China seeks a manufacturing foothold in a country where U.S. tariffs are fueling factory closures and layoffs.
Foreign Cars Flow to Russia Through China, Skirting Ukraine War Sanctions
By Alessandro Parodi, Gleb Stolyarov and Alexandr Reshetnikov Tens of thousands of cars are being exported from China to Russia under gray-market schemes that often circumvent Western and Asian government sanctions and automakers' commitments to exit the Russian market, according to ...