WEEK IN REVIEW: Xi Jinping Reaffirms Support for Maduro

The Pentagon has reportedly flagged the Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba, the electric vehicle leader BYD, and the search engine provider Baidu for inclusion on a list of companies that assist the Chinese military. The decision was reportedly made before the recent talks between Presidents Xi and Trump. It’s ...

WEEK IN REVIEW: China Moves to Lock In Russia Energy and Investment Deals

A U.S. congressional report said China used the short border war between India and Pakistan in May to test and promote its advanced weapons and detection systems. The bipartisan US-China Economic and Security Review Commission said “Beijing opportunistically leveraged the conflict to test and advertise the sophistication of ...

WEEK IN REVIEW: China’s U.S. Soybean Orders Jump After Trade Truce, Then Subsides

The Chinese authorities unveiled plans this week to use their boom in renewable energy to power a whole set of ancillary industries. During the 2026-2030 five-year plan period, provinces and power producers will reportedly be pushed to build up local industrial bases to boost the production of green ...

WEEK IN REVIEW: China Criticizes Trump’s Nigeria Ultimatum

Tanzania reopened its border with Zambia, restoring a key transit route for China-bound copper exports. The border crossing, along with the port at Dar es Salaam, had been closed due to a surge of election violence, but officials now say they're clearing a backlog and copper shipments are ...

WEEK IN REVIEW: Seoul Summit Signals Reset in China–U.S. Ties

U.S. President Donald Trump left South Korea after the conclusion of his bilateral summit with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, earlier today. Trump reportedly said the meeting was “amazing” and that the two “agreed on almost everything.” In his opening statement, Xi said it is normal for the ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

The Pain of Un-Polarity

“THE G2 WILL BE CONVENING SHORTLY!”
This post by U.S. President Donald Trump in the run-up to his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping last week may end up leaving a more lasting mark than the actual summit he attended.

Get a daily email packed with the latest news and analysis from Africa, Asia, and across the Global South.
Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping ...

WEEK IN REVIEW: Chinese Navy Destroyer Baotou Docks at Kenya’s Mombasa Port

China and Russia led efforts within the United Nations to weaken and defund human rights-related investigations, according to a new report by the NGO International Service for Human Rights. The report said the attempts to use budget cuts to redirect or blunt human rights intelligence happened in closed-door ...

WEEK IN REVIEW: Vietnam Surpasses China in U.S. Apparel Market

Brazil exported 77 million tons of soybeans to China in the first eight months of the year, more than enough to offset the loss of the U.S. as a supplier, according to new data from the American Farm Bureau Federation.  The group also noted U.S. exports of corn, wheat, and ...

WEEK IN REVIEW: China’s BYD Projects One Million EV Deliveries Abroad

China is reportedly curbing the use of European tech in its communication networks. State buyers of internet and mobile phone components have to submit contracts with companies like Sweden’s Ericsson and Finland’s Nokia for security review by the Cyberspace Administration of China before the purchase is allowed. The ...

WEEK IN REVIEW: China Secures Soybeans from Argentina, Snubs U.S. Exports

Chinese traders are rapidly increasing their orders of Argentinian soybeans, following the country’s temporary suspension of export taxes. Since the tax holiday was announced on Monday, at least twenty ship cargoes (about 1.3 million tons) have been booked. The orders include both crops to be shipped in November ...

WEEK IN REVIEW: African Exporters Lobby U.S., While Eyeing Chinese Alternatives

Reuters reports that African exporters have embarked on a final effort to save the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a trade pact that gives the continent duty-free access to the U.S. market. The act will expire at the end of the month. Delegations from five African manufacturing ...

WEEK IN REVIEW: Trump and Xi Could Meet After Fresh U.S.–China Diplomatic Push

Top U.S. and Chinese officials had a series of meetings, leading to predictions of a possible summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun that the U.S. doesn’t want conflict between the superpowers. ...

WEEK IN REVIEW: Trump: U.S. Should’ve Been Highlighted at China’s WWII Parade

U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters that the U.S. should have played a more prominent role at China’s military parade to commemorate its victory over Japan in 1945. "I thought it was a beautiful ceremony. I thought it was very, very impressive," he said. "I watched the speech ...
Page 1 of 151215