Eyes Turn to China as the West Steps Back From Development

By Tim Hirschel-Burns With the notable exception of the United States, all other 192 members of the United Nations agreed on an agenda for financing the United Nations' 2030 Sustainable Development Goals’ (SDGs). In important respects, the agreement on the

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

BRICS Announces Numerous New Initiatives

The BRICS group wrapped up its two-day leaders’ summit in Rio de Janeiro on Monday. The summit’s final communique is a 16,000-word doorstop that covers numerous issues from economics to education.
The communique avoids any direct mention of the United States, and references to “unilateralism” and other coded criticism are also relatively scarce. Rather, the communique keeps the focus on the BRICS’ vision of the strengthening and reform of the global multilateral system ...

A Peer-to-Peer Pivot in China’s Overseas Development Finance

By Rebecca Ray In 2024, China extended $6.1 billion in 20 commitments in public and publicly guaranteed (PPG) loans, according to a new update to the China’s Overseas Development Finance (CODF) Database managed by the Boston University Global Development Policy ...

It’s Payback Time For a Lot of Those Chinese Loans

Borrowers in Africa and other developing regions are expected to repay $35 billion of Chinese loans this year, with two-thirds of the amount coming from the world's poorest countries. Many of these debts were taken out in the mid-2010s and are ...

China Floats Ideas for “Multipolar” Currency System to Balance U.S. Dollar

China announced several new initiatives aimed at increasing global trade in the yuan and to hedge against the dominance of the U.S. dollar. Pan Gongsheng, the governor of the People’s Bank of China, proposed a future where the global financial system would rely on several currencies.

Kenya’s FM Pushes China for Fast Approval of Financial Assistance Package

Kenya's top diplomat, Musalia Mudavadi, hoped that his visit to China this week would prompt Beijing to speed up approval of a large financial package that his government is counting on to build new roads and extend the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) to the Ugandan border.

China Says It Could Replace U.S. Funding in Colombia

China could step in to support infrastructure projects in Colombia if the United States withdraws funding, the country’s ambassador, Zhu Jingyang, said. In mid-May, the US Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs said it would “strongly oppose” upcoming disbursements by the Inter-American ...

No More Time to Waste: The Imperative to Strengthen Global South Voice and Representation at the IMF

By Tim Hirschel-Burns and Marina Zucker-Marques The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) governance is increasingly out of step with today’s world. While emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs), including China, account for 60 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP), they ...

The New Realities About Chinese Development Finance in Africa

Chinese overseas development finance is unrecognizable from what it was just a few years ago. After suffering tens of billions of dollars in losses, Chinese lenders have moved to de-risk their lending to countries in Africa, Asia, and across the Global ...

Xi Stresses Global South Ties During New Development Bank Meeting

Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized China’s support for the BRICS-led New Development Bank (NDB) and called on the institution to further build ties with the Global South. Xi called the bank "a pioneering initiative for the unity and self-improvement of the Global South," and said it will strengthen ...

Xi Stresses Global South Ties During New Development Bank Meeting

Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized China’s support for the BRICS-led New Development Bank (NDB) and called on the institution to further build ties with the Global South. Xi called the bank "a pioneering initiative for the unity and self-improvement of the Global South," and said it will strengthen ...

Xi Stresses Global South Ties During New Development Bank Meeting

Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized China’s support for the BRICS-led New Development Bank (NDB) and called on the institution to further build ties with the Global South. Xi called the bank "a pioneering initiative for the unity and self-improvement of the Global South," and said it will strengthen ...

Trump to Gut U.S. Agency Funding Africa Infrastructure Projects: Memo

President Donald Trump's administration plans to gut a U.S. agency that has invested billions in infrastructure in Africa, ceding ground in a key area of competition with China, according to a memo. A memo, which was sent to staff and whose ...

Stanbic Bank Kenya Unveils New Measures to Boost Trade With China

Stanbic Bank Kenya, a subsidiary of Standard Bank — Africa's largest bank by assets, announced a series of initiatives aimed at fostering closer commercial ties between Kenya and China. Among the key announcements at the Chinese Economic Forum held ...
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