Category: Economy

Chad, Zambia, and Ethiopia are among a growing number of African countries seeking debt relief under the G20's common framework (CF) and while that might provide some temporary relief, one of the world's largest credit ratings agencies warned on Tuesday that it's going to come at a ...

A robust discussion is underway in Washington, D.C.'s think tank and policymaking circles over what the Biden administration's future Africa policy should look like. Although there's been no formal announcement of any new initiative, there does seem to be an emerging consensus that the disproportionate focus on ...

The China Road and Bridge Corporation is building a massive new half-a-billion dollar expressway right through the Kenyan capital of Nairobi. But this project is very different than previous Chinese-financed infrastructure initiatives in Kenya, like the ailing Standard ...

Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama is the latest senior African stakeholder to push back against the accusation that China is taking advantage of Africa in general and his country in particular. "It is not totally accurate to make it sound as if we go into these relationships ...

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce on Monday officially congratulated Nigerian-American Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on her appointment to become the next Director-General of the World Trade Organization.  This was widely expected given that Beijing was among Okonjo-Iweala's more enthusiastic supporters, particularly ...

China is targeting small states like Mauritius, Iceland, and New Zealand to strike free trade agreement and other trade pacts rather than larger, more politically cumbersome regional deals with more powerful entities like the European Union, according to a new article by Lauren Johnston ...

Speaking in both his capacity as the outgoing chair of the African Union and the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa renewed his calls for urgent action by the International Monetary Fund to provide funds to developing countries by issuing new Special Drawing Rights (SDRs).

Acclaimed China-Africa scholar Deborah Bräutigam together with Harvard Business School professor Meg Rithmire published a detailed takedown in The Atlantic magazine of the U.S.-led "debt trap" narrative that remains a bedrock belief among large swathes of official Washington. The two ...

China has dramatically cut back financing overseas infrastructure development initiatives, especially for carbon-intensive energy projects involving oil, gas, and coal. From 2016 to 2019, China's two major policy banks slashed lending by a stunning 85%. ...

President Paul Kagame joined former U.S. National Security Advisor for what has become a trademark for the Rwandan leader to be brutally frank with U.S. and European interlocutors about sensitive political issues in Africa, including China's presence on the continent. President ...

Early on in the COVID-19-induced financial crisis in Africa, finance ministers and other senior-level stakeholders across the continent called on the IMF to issue new so-called Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) that would provide desperately-needed liquidity into their economies. When 

The January launch of the AfCFTA has prompted considerable reflection in both China and Africa as to what role Beijing can play in this new free trade era and whether China's role will be harmful or helpful.  Predictably, Chinese commentators are ...