When it was announced in 2023 that the African Union would become a full member of the G20, I darkly joked on a podcast that the AU’s entry into the body could very well mark the moment the G20 lost its status as one of the most important global coordination forums. Mark my words, I said, soon The Economist will be like “Uhhh, the G20 is OVER – it’s the ...
Category: Logistics
China Electric Heavy Trucks Surge as Diesel and LNG Demand Slide
China’s shift to electric heavy trucks is moving faster than expected, with diesel demand slipping and hopes for a long LNG trucking boom fading. Electric trucks made up 22% of new heavy-duty sales in the first half of 2025, up ...
JD Logistics Launches China–Vietnam Cargo Route, Deepening E-Commerce Integration
JD Logistics, the logistics arm of Chinese e-commerce giant Jing Dong or JD.com, announced the debut of a new 2-3 times a week cargo service between the eastern Chinese industrial hub city of Wuhu, along the Yangtze River delta, and Hanoi. WHY ...
Chinese EV Maker Bets on Nigeria’s Green Future With Electric Vans And Youth Training Program
Little-known Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer, CAWIN, is partnering with Nigeria’s ABC Logistics, a courier and parcel-delivery firm, to test a fleet of fully electric vehicles as part of a broader effort to green its logistics operations. The pilot program ...
China–Malaysia ‘ASEAN Express’ Rail Cuts Transit to 9 Days
China’s inland metropolis of Chongqing is now physically connected with Malaysia through a rail corridor branded the “ASEAN Express,” routed via Laos and Thailand. According to the latest media report on Wednesday, September 17, 2025, operators told the route ...
Chinese, Brazilian Officials Discuss Building New Transcontinental Railway to Peru Megaport
Nearly a dozen officials from the China State Railway Group and China's Transportation Ministry spent last week in Brasília holding talks about building a massive transcontinental rail line that would link Brazil to the Chinese-operated Chancay megaport in Peru. The discussions are ...
Ethiopian Airlines Opens New Chinese-Built Logistics Hub in Addis Ababa
Ethiopian Airlines launched a new Chinese-built logistics hub at Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa to meet the growing demand for e-commerce deliveries in Africa. The new 15,000 square meter facility has the capacity to process 150,000 tonnes of goods each ...
China Calls for Calm in the Red Sea as Oil, Shipping Prices Steadily Edge Higher
The Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a new appeal for calm in the Red Sea on Tuesday but made no mention of reports as to whether or not Beijing spoke with officials in Iran to rein in Houthi militants attacking cargo ships. ...
A Chinese Perspective on the Proposed U.S.-Backed Lobito Corridor in Angola
Angolan President João Lourenço is scheduled to meet with his U.S. counterpart, Joe Biden, at the White House on Thursday, where the two are expected to discuss moving forward with the development of the Lobito Corridor. The U.S. and the European ...
Angolan President to Visit Washington This Week For Lobito Corridor Talks
Angola’s President João Lourenço will meet with U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday during an official visit to Washington. According to a White House statement, they will focus on the next steps in a joint logistics corridor linking the Angolan port ...
Zambia, DRC to Build New Road to Expedite Copper/Cobalt Exports Via Tanzania
Zambia's Hakainde Hichilema and the Democratic Republic of the Congo's Félix Tshisekedi laid the foundation stone for a new 345-meter bridge over the Luapula River that divides their two countries as part of an ambitious new road project that will make it a lot easier to transport copper ...
New Half-Billion Dollar Deal Aims to Position Angola’s Lobito Corridor as Main Gateway for Africa’s Critical Resources
The competition for access to critical metals used to manufacture electric vehicle batteries intensified with the announcement that Trafigura, a Singaporean-based commodity trading giant, is going to lead a consortium of European companies to rebuild a rail line poised to become one of Africa's most important logistics corridors. ...
South Africa’s Decrepit Railway Infrastructure is Slowing Iron Ore Shipments to China
More than a million tons of South African iron ore is blocked from leaving the country, mostly bound for China, due to SA's failing railway infrastructure. The local unit of British-South African mining giant Anglo American, Kumba Iron ...