Category: View From China
How Chinese Fintech Is Overcoming Africa’s Limited Banks and Patchy Internet to Build Mobile Wallets for 1 Billion Users
At a bustling Lagos market, a fish vendor no longer worries about counterfeit bills—his PalmPay QR code brings instant payments confirmed by a Yoruba voice alert. In Johannesburg, a Chinese garment trader receives rand through Vodapay that lands in renminbi within minutes, bypassing costly bank delays. These ...
South Asian Rider’s Court Victory in Hong Kong Shows How Extreme Weather Tests Gig Platforms
When a South Asian Foodpanda rider injured during a typhoon in Hong Kong was awarded $167,000 (HK$1.3 million) in compensation, the case instantly stood out—not just for the size of the payout, but for what it revealed about the city’s labor landscape. Hong Kong, a hub for ...
Indonesian Riots Won’t Turn Into Another 1998 Anti-Chinese Pogrom, Chinese Expert Says
Recent unrest in Indonesia has been one of the largest outbreaks of social turmoil since 1998, when widespread violence included anti-Chinese riots. Some Chinese business owners in Indonesia even reinforced their shops to prevent damage. In an interview with the ...
Chinese Military Blogger Reviews Vietnam’s Parade on the Eve of Beijing’s Own
On the day before China’s September 3rd military parade marking the 80th anniversary of victory in World War II, Vietnam staged its own large-scale celebration in Hanoi for the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day. On a Chinese WeChat public account focused on military ...
Why Chinese Flight Attendants Love Africa Routes
The most coveted international route among China Southern Airlines crew isn’t to glamorous destinations in Europe or the United States, but to Africa, a flight attendant recently revealed on Chinese video platform Bilibili. Back in 2015, during China Southern’s peak ...
Economics, Not Politics Are Driving Modi Closer to China, Says Scholar
There's been a lot of speculation as to why, after 4-5 years of bitter feuding, China and India are now deciding that the time is right to reconcile. The narrative in the U.S. and Europe focuses on the role of Donald Trump and his torpedoing of the ...
Chinese Social Media Mocks Japan’s Plan to Welcome African Migrants
When Tokyo announced it would welcome African migrants to revive depopulated towns, many Chinese online reacted with scorn. Japan announced plans to bring in African migrants through a “special talent visa program” unveiled at the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African ...
On Chinese Social Media, Rwanda’s Army Looks Strikingly Like the PLA
On Chinese social media, a Bilibili video has left netizens marveling at how much Rwanda’s army has come to resemble the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). The edit splices together clips of Rwandan infantry drills, martial art practices, parades, and even the hand gestures of their instructors. ...
Why China’s Middle-Class Families Are Flocking to Kenya for Summer Trips
In the summer of 2023, a curious travel trend began surfacing on Chinese social media feeds: middle-class parents were flying their children halfway across the world, not to Disneyland or a European city, but to Kenya’s grasslands. For China’s aspirational urban families, East Africa has suddenly become ...
China’s Delivery Titans Export Their Ugliest Rivalry to Brazil
Two of China’s biggest delivery giants are exporting not just their business models but also their worst habits. In Brazil, Didi’s 99Food and Meituan’s Keeta have turned a promising overseas expansion into a spectacle of lawsuits, exclusivity deals, and copycat branding so absurd that instead of toppling ...
How Chinese Companies Weigh Risk Against Profit in Africa’s Volatile Goldfields
Is Africa’s gold rush worth the life-and-death risks? Armed militants regularly storm mines in Ghana, Mali, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, wrecking equipment, kidnapping workers, and demanding ransoms. Embassies have even urged Chinese firms to pull out. Yet with gold ...
How Chinese Takeout Bags Became Africa’s Street-Style Hit
Chinese social media spotted a quirky trend in African cities like Nairobi. Sturdy, brightly printed Chinese takeout bags, the kind you get from a hotpot chain or milk tea shop, are showing up everywhere. These are not souvenirs from China. They sell for over a dollar ...