Italy has announced its formal withdrawal from the Belt and Road Initiative after joining the China-centered infrastructure and investment project in 2019.
The timing of the announcement that Rome won’t renew its BRI commitment is notable. It came only a day before the EU-China summit, which kicks off on Thursday. The summit will likely be more contentious than usual, with European leaders expected to push China on the treatment of EU firms amid discussions ...
Country: Botswana
What Did Chinese Community Leaders in Africa Think of the Two Sessions Meeting in Beijing?
Since last Friday, Chinese news has carried wall-to-wall coverage of the Two Sessions "parliamentary pageant" in Beijing. Not surprisingly, it's been followed by Chinese expats across Africa. The Two Sessions meetings provide a rare glimpse into the ...
The Chinese Government Briefs Diaspora in Africa on FOCAC and Also Wants to Make Sure Everyone’s Sufficiently Patriotic
China's Ambassador to Botswana, Wang Xuefeng, led a post-FOCAC briefing of overseas Chinese diaspora from Africa to bring them up to speed on everything that happened at the conference in Dakar and just to make sure they're all aligned when it comes to key issues like Xi Jinping ...
FOCAC PERSPECTIVES: Because of Everything That’s Going on in the World Today, Africa Will Actually Have More Leverage at FOCAC
Every day leading up to the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation conference on November 29th and 30th, CAP will feature perspectives from journalists, academics, activists, and business leaders about what they hope will emerge from the FOCAC event in Dakar. If you ...
Week in Review: Sanctions, Supply Chains & Security
Three robbery-hijackings in a week have put South Africa's Chinese community on edge. The latest incident occurred last week in the Humewood area of Port Elizabeth where like the previous two incidents an ethnic Chinese driver was forced off the road and robbed at gunpoint. The assailants also ...
Chinese Vaccine Shipments to Africa Lag Far Behind Asia and Latin America
China shipped just 500,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines last week, according to the latest data from the Bridge Beijing Vaccine Tracker Report, highlighting how the continent is falling behind other regions like Latin America and Asia in terms of vaccine shipments. ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
Awkward Timing as Italy Withdraws from BRI
Josep Borrell’s Misguided Views on Chinese Vaccines in Africa
European Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell is really unhappy with how the bloc's member states have hoarded vaccines for themselves at the expense of developing countries in Africa and Latin America. On Friday he criticized the EU's contributions to those regions as "insufficient."
Botswana to Administer Second Dose of Sinovac Jabs
Frontline workers, elderly residents and others in Botswana who received their first dose of Sinovac vaccines back in March will be able to receive their second dose from today. Health officials also announced that second doses for those who received AstraZeneca jabs will be available as of ...
China Controls 90% of the World’s Manganese Market, Another Strategic Ingredient for Electric Vehicle Batteries
Governments and automakers in the U.S., Europe and Asia have become steadily concerned in recent years over China's dominance of the strategic minerals and metals supply chains that are used to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles. Their primary concern ...
In a Mostly Symbolic Move, China Relieves Botswana of Its Interest-Free Debt
Chinese ambassador to Botswana, Zhao Yanbo, announced yesterday on Twitter that he had signed an agreement with Botswana's finance minister, Thapelo Matsheka, to exempt a portion of the southern African country's debts so it could allocate more resources to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. ...
Chinese Embassy in Botswana Uses Facebook to Slam U.S. Over Failure to Deliver COVID-19 Donation
The Chinese embassy in Botswana has joined the growing chorus of Chinese diplomatic social media accounts in escalating anti-U.S. rhetoric. In a strongly-worded post published on the embassy's Facebook page, the mission alleged that none of the funds promised by the United States were ever sent to ...