China’s Vice President Han Zheng addressed the UN General Assembly on Thursday. Along with retreads of established Chinese positions on Taiwan, Ukraine, and the Israel/Palestine conflict, his comments also provided interesting clues about China’s messaging to the Global South.
First, he called on the international community to “follow the direction of a multipolar world” with the UN at its center. I wonder how opinion within Beijing’s inner circles breaks down around the bipolarity/multipolarity issue, considering ...
Category: Logistics
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 ...
New Copper/Cobalt Trade Corridors Take Shape to Serve as Alternative to South Africa
Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Angola will set up an agency to manage a logistics corridor linking them to Angola’s Lobito port. The move comes as South Africa's Durban port has faced repeated delays.
Hunan Province Launches New China-Africa Digital Services Hub
China’s Hunan province has set up a digital logistics hub supporting Chinese companies’ trade with Africa. It’s focused on cross-border communications support and data-sharing between Chinese companies working in Africa. WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? Hunan is ...
Chinese Contractor Completes 105km Railway Upgrade in Namibia
China Gezhouba Group Corp (CGGC) finished a 107.5km upgrade of a rail line between the Namibian harbor Walvis Bay and the central logistics hub of Arandis on time, despite materials shortages and COVID-related delays. The upgrade doubles transport speeds on the line. ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
Unpacking Han Zheng’s Messaging to the Global South at the UN General Assembly
China-Linked Group Will Run Angolan Transport Corridor
The Angolan government has signed a $450 million agreement with the Portuguese infrastructure group Mota-Engil to run rail and logistics in the Lobito Transport Corridor, which connects Lobito Port to the mining zone in the southern Democratic Republic of Congo.
China’s Dream of Direct Access to the Indian Ocean is Finally Becoming a Reality in Myanmar
China has long regarded its dependence on transiting goods through the narrow Malacca Straits on the Malay peninsula as among its most serious national security vulnerabilities. In the event of a conflict with the United States, the U.S. Navy could easily block the strait and ...
Hunan Province is Fast Becoming a Major Hub for China-Africa Trade and Logistics
Ethiopian Airlines launched a new cargo route between Addis Ababa and Changsha, the provincial capital of Hunan, the latest China-Africa aviation trade link. The first flight took off last week and is expected to ferry some 17,000 metric tons of goods. ...