Category: Uncategorized
Pompeo’s Critiques of the Chinese in Africa Sparks Pointed Response From Beijing
Secretary Pompeo's comments on Africa were just one of several U.S. critiques that dominated much of Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian's regular press briefing on Friday. After responding to the Secretary's announcement that Washington would impose targeted sanctions against Chinese officials linked to ...
China’s 3-Step Propaganda Response to U.S. Critiques
A predictable sequence of events now unfolds whenever senior-level U.S. officials, notably President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, launch new broadsides against China: Wait between 12 and 24 hours for the foreign ministry to draft a ...
With an Eye on Annoying China, the U.S. National Security Council Praises Taiwan’s Outreach in East Africa
Just hours after Secretary Pompeo's critical comments of the Chinese presence in Africa, the U.S. National Security Council followed up with a provocative tweet that praised Taiwan's recent agreement with the self-declared state of Somaliland. On July 1, Taiwan ...
The Chinese Embassy in Abuja Blasts Nigerian COVID-19 Lawsuit as “Shoddy” and “Frivolous”
The Chinese embassy in Nigeria on Wednesday forcefully reasserted its objections to a $200 billion lawsuit against China for reparations for COVID-19 filed by a group of Nigerian lawyers in the High Court. "The attempt to file frivolous lawsuits is a shoddy one, as it has zero ...
The UN Human Rights Council Statement on Hong Kong Highlights Why African Countries Are Becoming Increasingly Important to China
Africa's growing political importance to China was on full display at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) last week in Geneva where nearly half of the signatories of a statement supporting China's controversial national security law in Hong Kong were from African states. ...
Africa Practice: Africa is Not Facing a Debt Crisis but Some African Countries Certainly Are
The London-based consultancy Africa Practice published a new infographic on Twitter that highlights the wide disparities between different countries' debt-to-GDP ratio across the continent.
Why Oh Why Did the Daily Nation Newspaper Report That a Plane Full of Chinese Evacuees Took Off From Nairobi When It Didn’t?
For some totally inexplicable reason the normally reliable Daily Nation newspaper in Kenya is sticking with the story that hundreds of Chinese nationals have been evacuated from Nairobi even when no such evacuation ever took place, there were no flights to China this week and repeated denials ...
The Chinese Approach to Debt Relief is Very Different Than That of Legacy Donors. A New Report Explains Why.
A trio of researchers at the China-Africa Research Initiative at Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C. has published a new working paper that provides some badly-need context about yesterday's announcement by Chinese President Xi Jinping to cancel a small segment of Beijing's loan ...
Once Angola Renegotiates its Debts, There May Not be Much Money Left Over For Anything Else
Nathan Hayes, an Africa analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit in London, highlights Angola's dilemma in the ongoing talks to restructure its debts. With the price of oil so low due to the global economic slowdown brought on by the COVID-19 outbreak, pretty much the only choice ...
Not a Day Goes by That Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zhao Lijian Doesn’t Talk About COVID-19 Aid to Africa
Regular readers of this newsletter may have noticed a new trend. In recent weeks, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Zhao Lijian has mentioned Beijing's COVID-19 medical relief to Africa in almost every one of his regular press briefings. The questions ...
Just a Month Ago China Was Blamed for Anti-Black Discrimination, Now Beijing Rallies Behind Africa to Protest Against Racism in the U.S.
The Chinese government is steadily escalating its criticism of the United States over the ongoing protests against police brutality that are now taking place in dozens of cities across the U.S. While Chinese diplomats and embassies in Africa
Heritage Foundation: China’s Construction of Government Buildings in Africa Potentially Enhances Beijing’s Spying Capabilities
The conservative Heritage Foundation in the United States published a new report on Wednesday arguing that China's intelligence capabilities are potentially enhanced by Beijing's drive to construct government buildings across the continent. "Chinese companies have constructed or renovated ...