Category: Research

New Research Tracks Chinese, Russian Disinformation Campaigns in Africa

The number of disinformation campaigns purportedly initiated by Russia and China in Africa has nearly quadrupled since 2022, according to a new data set produced by the Pentagon-backed Africa Center for Strategic Studies. Researchers documented 189 instances of intentional efforts to ...

South Africa is Excited, Confused by China’s Belt and Road Initiative: Research

South Africa was one of the earliest African countries to sign on to the Belt and Road Initiative. However, elites in the country still sometimes find the initiative confusing. These are the findings of a survey conducted by the Institute for Global Dialogue, a leading think tank in ...

Q&A: African, Chinese and European Scientists Collaborating to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Kenya’s Smallholder Farms

A growing number of joint research projects between Chinese and African scientists on climate change is increasing collaboration, producing different data to help address challenges brought on by changing weather patterns. At the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Nairobi, Zhu ...

New Afrobarometer Polling Shows Both China and the U.S. Losing Popularity in Africa

Both China and the United States are becoming less popular in Africa. This was the main finding of a preliminary release of new opinion survey data from the Africa-focused polling company Afrobarometer. The full details of the poll haven’t been released yet, ...

Partnership With China Could See Egypt Lead Africa’s Satellite Climate Change Studies

China is bearing the bulk of financing Egypt’s Horus Satellite program meant to boost Africa’s fight against climate change. Last month, Egypt’s space program launched another satellite, Horus-2, to help with monitoring climate change in the country that is increasingly edging ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

China-Led Study Proposes Global Energy Network

A globally connected network of solar and wind energy could provide three times the global energy demand by 2050 at a lower cost than independent national power systems. This is the finding of a study led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in collaboration with researchers from the United States and Denmark.

The study focused on how areas with high solar and wind capacity (such as deserts) can be linked to ...

Fun Fact: China’s Unexpected Corn Boom

Many would be surprised to hear the results of new research showing that China now produces more corn than rice. And its need for biofuels, starches and animal feed is so big it also imports huge amounts from other corn producers like Brazil.

How Africa-China Studies Exploded Since 2012

The SSRC report is its first mapping of the Africa-China field since 2012 and shows the field’s rapid expansion. Ten years ago, it found three key subfields in Africa-China studies: trade and aid; the role of multilateral institutions, and migration. By ...

Two Themes Dominate Latin America-China Studies

The SSRC’s mapping of scholarship on the relationship between China and South and Latin America and the Caribbean shows that the entanglement of geopolitics and global economics dominate the field. However, the report shows research on the social and environmental impacts ...

Asia, Not Africa Most Likely Region For China to Set Up New Overseas Military Base, Says Rand Report

Four countries in Asia have been identified by researchers in the United States as the most likely places where China will set up a new military outpost. The findings by a trio of scholars at the U.S. government-supported 

New Research Reveals China’s Overseas Investment Priorities: Asia is Tops, Africa is “Basically a Rounding Error”

New research reveals fascinating patterns in Chinese overseas foreign direct investment in the nearly twenty-year period from 2003 to 2021. Not surprisingly, Asia has been the preferred destination, followed by Latin America, most of which has gone to Brazil, Chile, and other resource-rich countries in South America. ...

A Career in China-Africa Research

Dr. Yoon Jung Park is among the most well-known Sino-Africa scholars in the field. Dr. Park has taught and done research on China-African affairs for over 20 years at universities in both the U.S. and Africa. Now based in Washington D.C., where she co-founded ...