After several years of declining funding, the African end of the Belt and Road Initiative seems to be roaring back. The newest Griffith University/Green Development Finance Center data on the Belt and Road Initiative shows that engagement with Africa jumped by 395%, while a few big projects boosted engagement in Nigeria alone more than twelvefold.
These shifts indicate a window of opportunity for African electrification. 60% of Africans still ...
Category: Export
Looking Beyond Mining in the Africa-China Relationship
Last week’s China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo (CAETE) in Changsha, Hunan province drew very little press attention, but it gave a glimpse of the growing centrality of agricultural trade to the Africa-China relationship. The event delivered 176 new project deals worth $11.39 billion. The number ...
China and ASEAN Finalize Free Trade Agreement Third Upgrade
China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have concluded negotiations on the upgraded China–ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA 3.0). The new CAFTA 3.0 deepens regional economic integration by expanding digital trade, green development, and cross-border supply chain cooperation commitments. ...
Cambodia’s 2025 Trade Boom Pulls It Deeper Into the U.S.-China Crossfire
A record trade deficit with China and surging U.S. trade surplus drove Cambodia’s 17% trade growth in early 2025, spotlighting structural asymmetries and rising exposure to external shocks. Two giants now shape Cambodia’s trade orbit, China and the United States, pulling ...
Cambodia’s 2025 Trade Boom Pulls It Deeper Into the U.S.-China Crossfire
A record trade deficit with China and surging U.S. trade surplus drove Cambodia’s 17% trade growth in early 2025, spotlighting structural asymmetries and rising exposure to external shocks. Two giants now shape Cambodia’s trade orbit, China and the United States, pulling ...
Indonesia Eyes Boeing 737 Max Jets Dropped by China Amid U.S. Trade War Pivot
Indonesia is quietly maneuvering to benefit from the fallout of the China-U.S. full-blown trade war. With Beijing halting deliveries of Boeing 737 Max jets, the U.S. aerospace giant is rerouting aircraft originally bound for Chinese airlines, offering a rare opening for countries like Indonesia to step in. ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
Why U.S. Farmers Have Good Reason to be Nervous About China’s Shift to Brazil for Agricultural Products
China's move to end its reliance on U.S. agricultural imports began during the first Trump administration in the late 2010s and has accelerated rapidly in years, prompting a lot of U.S. farmers to fret whether that once lucrative business will ever come back.
Xi Jinping’s Malaysia Visit Poised to Catalyze China–ASEAN Free Trade Expansion
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Malaysia today is more than a ceremonial display; it’s seen as a calculated move to solidify China’s economic influence in Southeast Asia, just as the ASEAN–China Free Trade Area (ACFTA 3.0) nears completion and Washington reintroduces sweeping tariffs ...
China’s Solar Exports to Global South Soar
A new report by the sustainable energy research outlet Ember shows that China’s total solar panel exports rose by 10% last year, but that its exports to the Global South lept by 32%, while exports to the Global North fell by 6%. The developing world overtook developed ...
Chinese Export Surge is Destroying Millions of Jobs Across the Global South
From Mexico to Malaysia, countries across the Global South are finding it increasingly difficult to compete with a massive surge of Chinese exports that are undercutting local producers and prompting mass lay-offs. Indonesia's textile and apparel industry lost a quarter a million ...
China’s CMOC Group Announces Strong Earnings as Market is Split Over DRC’s Cobalt Export Ban
The world's largest cobalt producer, China's CMOC Group, announced record earnings for 2024 with net income jumping 64% to $1.9 billion, well above analyst estimates. These results are particularly impressive given the fact that cobalt prices hovered near record lows last ...
China’s Durian Market Heats Up as Indonesia Challenges Thailand and Vietnam
China’s insatiable appetite for durian fuels a high-stakes competition among Southeast Asian suppliers, with Indonesia now pushing to enter the lucrative market. Long dominated by Thailand, with Vietnam rapidly expanding its footprint, the sector is poised for further disruption ...
China’s Export Boom Is Squeezing Middle-Income Asia
By Ian Coxhead and Varan Kitayaporn China’s manufacturing-focused stimulus measures have accelerated the extension of its domestic supply chain and caused a surge of exports into world markets. These trends challenge industrial economies all over the world. The ...