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: Equatorial Guinea
How Illegal African Timber Ends Up in Home Depot
At least 1.2 million doors sold to U.S. consumers between 2017 and 2022 at the massive home improvement chain Home Depot came from threatened forests in Equatorial Guinea via China. This is the finding of a new Environmental Investigation Agency report on the trade in okoume, a kind ...
Guessing China’s Military Basing Ambitions
By Lukas Fiala Occasionally, a new report reignites the debate over where China might place its next military base. And just in time for the PLA’s 96th anniversary on Tuesday this week a recent study from AidData sheds new light on the topic. ...
Where Will China’s Next Naval Base Be? New Report Lays Out the Options
Amid worries in Washington about the expansion of China’s global military reach, a new report by AidData, a research lab at the College of William and Mary, identifies eight locations for possible future bases. Recent reports that a pier at the Ream ...
What’s in Store for Chinese Companies Encouraged to Invest in Equatorial Guinea?
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister, Qin Gang, recently urged Chinese companies to invest in Equatorial Guinea and expressed that the Chinese market is open to receiving more products from the African nation. After meeting his Equatorial Guinea counterpart, Simeon ...
Why the U.S. is Probably Quite Interested in the Equatorial Guinea Foreign Minister’s Visit to China
Equatorial Guinea (EG) Foreign Minister Simeón Oyono Esono Angue began a four-day visit to Beijing on Wednesday, where he will meet with his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang. Normally, a visit like this from such a small country doesn't generate much interest from ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
Awkward Timing as Italy Withdraws from BRI
What U.S. Policymakers Should Know About Chinese Basing Ambitions in Africa
U.S. military commanders regularly raise concerns about a possible second Chinese military base in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, despite rumors about possible footholds in countries like Equatorial Guinea, China’s strategic interest in Africa is relatively low, especially when compared with regions like Southeast Asia ...
Q&A: Africa’s Role in China’s Global Military Expansion: Defense Expert Unpacks a Thorny Issue
The head of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, Admiral John Aquilino, on Tuesday added to the growing alarm in Washington DC defense circles about the global reach of China’s military. Speaking in front of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, Aquilino said China is building capacity ...
Is China Planning a New Military Base in Africa? New Paper Weighs the Options
Rumors that China is planning another military base in Africa are rife in Washington at the moment. Now a new paper by Paul Nantulya, a noted expert on Africa-China military links, was published by the Pentagon-aligned Africa Center for Strategic Studies. It unpacks the strategic calculations that underlie the ...
Equatorial Guinea Media Donation Highlights a Key Chinese Soft Power Strategy
China is making diplomatic inroads in Equatorial Guinea via an old tactic: donating broadcasting equipment. This comes as the West African country faces a lot of U.S. pressure due to fears that it might host China’s first Atlantic military base. Qi Mei, ...
Rear Admiral Gives the Clearest Hint to Date About Why the U.S. Is So Concerned About a Chinese Military Base in West Africa
One of the Pentagon's most senior military officers for Africa provided the clearest indication so far as to why the United States is becoming increasingly anxious over the purported Chinese ambition to build a military outpost somewhere along Africa's Atlantic coast, most likely in Equatorial Guinea.