G7 Climate Diplomacy — Sweet Words, but Just Debt and Delays for the Global South

The last few weeks have made two things clear. First, the heat waves hitting the Global North have hammered home (yet again) that climate change is getting faster and more dangerous by the day. Second, despite calls from U.S. climate czar John Kerry to separate climate issues from ...

Sri Lanka’s Creditors Push for Greater Chinese Participation in Debt Talks

Three of Sri Lanka’s largest lenders are calling for its debt restructuring process to be sped up and for China to support the process. Officials from India, Japan, and France, the three heads of Sri Lanka’s creditor committee, are also raising new forms of cooperation in a bid ...

Q&A: Untapped Opportunities In Indonesia’s Impact Tech Startups For Chinese Investors

Conversations around the China-Indonesia cooperation usually revolve around the big, flagship Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects like the high-speed rail, the industrial parks, or nickel processing in Morowali and Weda Bay.  But, development and sustainability can be driven by a ...

Rwanda’s New Chinese-Funded, Built Hydropower Plant Progresses Amid Mounting Concerns Over Drought

A Chinese state-owned engineering and construction company successfully completed river closure last week marking the start of the main building phase of the $214 million Nyabarongo II Multipurpose Project in Rwanda. In the country’s quest for more renewable energy to ...

Kenya’s Debt-Servicing Costs Edge Higher Amid Street Protests and Heightened Uncertainty

Kenya spent 59% of all the money it collects in taxes to service the country's ballooning debt, a slight increase from the previous fiscal year. The news adds further pressure on President William Ruto, who slashed subsidies and increased taxes in ...

Corruption and Mismanagement at the Root of Kenya’s Debt Crisis, Not Chinese Loans, Say Policymakers

Critics of Chinese lending practices in developing countries often point to Kenya's Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) as the prime example of Beijing's aggressive tactics that underlie the "debt trap" accusation. But in Kenya, they're telling a very different story about how ...

Heard About Those Escrow Accounts Used to Secure Chinese Loans in Africa? Here’s What They Look Like in Action

There's been a lot of discussion in recent years about how Chinese lenders required high-risk borrowers in Africa and other developing countries to put large pools of money in offshore escrow accounts as a kind of insurance measure that guaranteed the creditor would be repaid. ...

Graph of the Day: How Chinese Demand Is Shifting the Global Soybean Market from the U.S. to Brazil

China is now the largest buyer of Brazil’s soybean crop, as part of a move away from U.S. exports. Chinese buyers have consistently bought large quantities of Brazilian soybeans but are now even putting in orders for delivery in October, traditionally a quiet time in Brazil’s soybean ...

Chart of the Day: Why Are China’s Exports to Central Asia Growing So Rapidly?

China's trade with its Central Asian neighbors is booming. While countries like Kazakhstan export a lot of oil to China, Chinese exports to the region have jumped significantly.  China's exports to Central Asia stand at $16.6 billion this year, up 62% from ...

Are the BRICS a Bloc? A Group? A Threat? It All Depends on Where You Sit.

If you haven't watched Netflix’s popular TV show, the Diplomat, do not worry. In 2023, international diplomacy in the real world seems more thrilling and dramatic. With the approaching of this year’s BRICS (i.e., Brazil, China, India, South Africa, and Russia) Summit to be held in Johannesburg, ...

How China’s CMOC Came Out Ahead in $2 Billion Settlement to End Congo Mining Feud

Chinese mining giant CMOC announced that it has settled a years-long dispute with the DR Congo's state-run mining company Gécamines that both sides hope will conclude a bitter feud between the two firms over royalty payments from the massive Tenke Fungurume mine (TFM), one of the world's ...

Nigerian Trader Sparks Online Controversy When He Shows How Much He Bought for Just $63

Nigerian TikTok users couldn't believe what they were seeing when a China-based importer who goes by the TikTok handle @timi_perfection posted a video that laid out everything he bought for just 50,000 nairas (about $63.) Dozens of comments expressed doubt over how much ...
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