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: Foreign Policy
U.S. Senator Seeks Review of Kenya’s ‘Major Non-NATO Ally’ Status, Citing China Ties
One of Washington's most powerful lawmakers is calling for the State Department to review Kenya's status as a Major Non-NATO Ally in response to Nairobi's close ties with China. U.S. Republican Senator James Risch, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,
Chinese Foreign Minister Pledges Support for Brazil in Tariff Fight
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China would support Brazil “in defending its right to development and opposing the bullying practices of arbitrary tariffs,” according to China Daily. He made the comments during a phone call with Celso Amorim, chief advisor to the president of Brazil.
China Rejects NATO Head’s Sanctions Threat
China's Foreign Ministry dismissed comments by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte threatening China, India, and Brazil with secondary sanctions for doing business with Russia. Rutte's comments came a day after President Donald Trump announced new weapons allocations for Ukraine and threatened penalties ...
China Criticizes Paraguay on Taiwan
China’s Foreign Ministry criticized the news that the Taiwanese leader Lai Ching-te is scheduled to visit Paraguay and Belize in August, a visit that could also see him making stopovers in the United States. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said: “We ...
As U.S. Focus Wavers, Xi Courts the Global South
Chinese President Xi Jinping held separate bilateral meetings with the leaders of Ecuador and Senegal on Friday in what appears to be a concerted effort by Beijing to maintain strong ties with Global South countries, even as major power diplomacy increasingly dominates Beijing's foreign policy agenda.
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
Vietnam and China Call for Deeper Ties
Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Tuesday, amid ongoing pressure from the United States to loosen the ties between the countries. The two met on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting of the New Champions gathering in ...
Bangladesh Joins China-Pakistan Cooperation Framework
China solidified its triangular relationship with Pakistan and Bangladesh at a meeting late last week. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong met with Bangladesh’s Acting Foreign Secretary Ruhul Alam Siddique and Pakistan’s Additional Foreign Secretary for Asia-Pacific Imran Ahmed Siddiqui on the sidelines of the China-South Asia ...
Vietnam Joins BRICS as Tenth Partner Country
Vietnam has been admitted as a partner country of the BRICS group, according to the Government of Brazil on Friday, which holds the 2025 rotating BRICS chair. The Brazilian foreign ministry said, "Vietnam becomes the tenth BRICS partner country, alongside ...
Wang Yi Conducts Speed Diplomacy With Nine African Foreign Ministers
China's top diplomat Wang Yi conducted another one of his signature rounds of speed diplomacy with foreign ministers from at least nine African countries on the sidelines of a ministerial gathering this week in central Hunan province. Specific details of the ...
Trump’s New Africa Policy Focuses on Deals… and China
U.S. foreign policy towards Africa has been totally upended since Donald Trump returned to power earlier this year. Gone are the decades-old humanitarian programs that have been replaced by a new strategy that focuses on expanding U.S. commercial ties and countering ...
Chinese Perspectives on Trump’s Middle East Tour
By Giorgia Facchini From May 13 to May 16, Donald Trump embarked on his first major international trip of his second term, a four-day tour of the Gulf, with the U.S. President visiting Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates ...
China Tops Favorability Rankings in Africa, Outpacing U.S. and EU, New Survey Shows
China is viewed more positively than any other global or regional power in Africa, according to a new survey conducted across 29 countries by Afrobarometer, the continent’s leading public opinion measurement agency. The findings, released this week, show that 60 percent ...