Today is a public holiday in South Africa – Human Rights Day. There’s a certain irony in spending the day focusing on China’s President Xi Jinping’s visit to Vladimir Putin, knee-deep in a human rights disaster.
What one makes of the Ukraine crisis increasingly maps on where one lives. This is made clear by a remarkable new set of polling data recently published by the European Council on Foreign Relations ...
Country: Ghana
New Foreign Ministry Annex in Ghana and a Newly Refurbished Parliament Building in Malawi Are China’s Latest “Gifts” to African Governments
Ghana's Foreign Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey was visibly excited to see what her new office will look like in the new $20 million foreign ministry annex building that will be entirely paid for by China. Botchwey was joined by the Chinese ambassador ...
China vs. the Multilateral Development Banks
There was a major breakthrough this week in China's months-long standoff with the World Bank, IMF and other multilateral creditors when Beijing agreed to fully back Sri Lanka's debt restructuring. The move now clears the way for Colombo to secure $2.9 ...
Ghanaian Students Returning from China Face Unique Challenges…and Opportunities
More African foreign students are studying in China than anywhere else in the world. But do these qualifications get them jobs back home? A new webinar series by the Afro-Sino Centre of International Relations (ASCIR) featuring the China-Trained African Professionals (CTAP) ...
China’s New Line on Ghana Debt: We Own Less Than 5%, so Why Are You Talking to Us?
Even though talks between Chinese creditors and the Ghanaian government are now underway in Accra to restructure the country's $1.7 billion of bilateral debt, a narrative that Beijing is delaying the process is taking hold in the Ghanaian media. The problem stems ...
WEEK IN REVIEW: Apple’s Chinese Suppliers Reportedly Moving Production out of the Country at a Much Faster Rate Than Forecast
Apple's Chinese suppliers are reportedly moving production out of the country at a much faster rate than previously forecast, according to one of the company's largest partners. AirPods maker GoerTek Inc. said it is shifting manufacturing to Vietnam and other Asian countries to avoid the fallout from escalating ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
Xi Bets on Global South in Moscow
Ghana President Hopeful for IMF Deal in March
Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo is optimistic that the debt-ridden country will reach a bailout deal with the International Monetary Fund by the end of the month. Speaking at a gathering of ambassadors and high-level officials, Akufo-Addo said: “I’m confident that with ...
Germany’s Ambassador to Ghana Explains Why He Thinks China is Hesitating to Set Up a Creditor Committee
The German government is advocating on behalf of Ghana for China to stop stalling in the creation of a new Creditor Committee that will restructure Accra's debts. Last week, Ghana officially became the second African country in the post-pandemic era to default ...
WEEK IN REVIEW: South Africa: Naval Drills | Ghana: Debt Crisis | DRC: Mining Contracts
Controversial joint naval exercises among South Africa, Russia, and China got underway this week off the coast of KwaZulu-Natal, prompting a fierce backlash from critics who blasted Pretoria for legitimizing Russia on the first anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine.
Ghana’s Finance Minister Will Go to Beijing This Week Seeking Debt Relief
Ghanaian Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta will head to Beijing on Friday in a bid to re-negotiate Accra's $1.7 billion debt owed to Chinese creditors. The West African country has already defaulted on some of its commercial debt ...
It’s Getting Tougher for African Students to Get a PhD in China
Thousands of African students are back in class again in China following a three-year absence due to the pandemic and Beijing's strict COVID Zero travel restrictions. But doctoral students from Africa and elsewhere are confronting ...