Follow CGSP on Social Media

Listen to the CGSP Podcast

Category: U.S.-CHINA-AFRICA

Why Linda Thomas-Greenfield’s Hot Take on Chinese Debt in Africa Is So Problematic

In a recent interview, the U.S. ambassador to the UN (and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Africa) weighed in on China's role in African debt distress in terms that could be described as 'blinkered' at best ('disingenuous' is another possibility): 

U.S. Treasury Secretary Blames China for Delays in Zambia Debt Restructuring

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen accused China of blocking progress for Zambia's drawn-out debt restructuring process that is now entering its second year. “I know the Chinese have been a barrier to concluding the negotiations,” she ...

Get Ready For Lots of Tough Talk on Chinese Debt When Janet Yellen Travels to Africa Next Month

Just days after it wrapped up a summit with African leaders, the Biden administration is following through on its promise to send more high-level officials to the continent.  First up is Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who will ...

Chinese State Media Strident on Summit

While the Chinese public seems disinterested in the U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit, China’s state media is rolling out the invective.  The state-owned nationalist tabloid Global Times published two highly negative articles dismissing the summit. In ...

Oh, the Talking Points: Why It’s Sometimes Better When U.S. Officials Leave China Out of the Africa Conversation…

At the outset of the U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit, one message was clear: African countries hate being made to ‘choose sides’ between the U.S. and China. So, U.S. officials were determined to avoid the appearance of making them do so. That meant steering away from China-related discussions as ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

Top State Department Official Says China’s Debt Relief Offer to Sri Lanka is “Not Enough”

Another senior U.S. diplomat has accused China of not doing enough to resolve Sri Lanka’s debt renegotiation, a sign that the island’s financial crisis is increasingly being framed geopolitically.
U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Victoria Nuland said: “What China has offered so far is not enough. We need to see credible and specific assurances that they will meet the IMF standard of debt relief.”

Get a daily email ...

Chinese Social Media Largely Ignores U.S.-Africa Summit

While the state media reaction in China to the U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit has been predictably negative, Chinese social media has largely ignored the event completely.  China Global South Project China editor Han Zhen wrote: “Nowadays, most Chinese media outlets are very ...

U.S.-Africa Summit Showcases New Biden Strategy, Amid Republican Complaints

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris opened the U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit yesterday with an optimistic message focusing on Africa’s youth. President Joe Biden is scheduled to join the summit today, and his administration has leaned into new cooperation initiatives. These include an additional $100 ...

Chinese Press: The U.S.-Africa Summit is All About China

The Chinese press and think tank coverage of the U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit is echoing the geopolitics-focused response from the Foreign Ministry. China’s state-owned nationalist tabloid Global Times set the tone by arguing that the summit is a continuation of Trump-era “America First’ approach, saying that “whether the ...

Global Coverage Zeroes In On Weak U.S.-Africa Engagement

Global coverage of the U.S.-Africa Leaders' Summit pointed out how little energy has been invested in the relationship in contrast to China's ongoing diplomatic outreach. Kate Fisher, a correspondent for Singapore's Channel New Asia, summed it up: “President Biden is yet ...

U.S. Playing “Catch Up” to China in Africa, Says Senior Commerce Department Official

U.S. Deputy Commerce Secretary Don Graves said the quiet part out loud on Monday at the Semafor Africa Summit in Washington, D.C., when he acknowledged that American stakeholders had fallen far behind China in terms of economic engagement in Africa. ...
Page 1 of 212