Reflections on the legacy of Jiang Zemin, China’s president from 1993 to 2003, who passed away on Wednesday, emphasized how he presided over a decade of explosive economic growth. Fewer have pointed out that he was also a key architect of China’s current relationship with Africa.
After the Mao era, emblematized by Chinese involvement in African anti-colonial struggles, the relationship went dormant as China focused on building economic ties ...
Country: Ghana
Q&A: Why Provinces, Not the Government in Beijing, Are Becoming the New Force in China-Africa Trade
China's engagement in Africa in the modern era is undergoing an important transition as the central government in Beijing, once the exclusive driver of this relationship, is stepping back to cede more space to provincial, municipal, and other so-called "sub-national actors" to facilitate trade and pioneer new ...
China’s Growing Influence in West Africa
As former colonial powers like France and the United Kingdom lose their relevance in West Africa, the region is pivoting to China. This trend comes as China’s own confidence in West Africa is growing, despite relatively slow engagement compared to other parts of the ...
Here We Go Again… More Blackface on Chinese Television
The Hong Kong-based television network TVB is facing criticism following this week's broadcast of its popular drama series Come Home Love: Lo and Behold, which featured actors wearing blackface. The offending scene had a number of young Hong ...
Ghana’s Ex-President Calls for Africa-China Trade Development
Ghana’s former President (and possible future election contender), John Dramani Mahama, called for Africa to close its trade gap with China and to move up the value chain, away from exporting raw materials. He ...
Nosmot Gbadamosi on US-China Competition in Africa, Debt and “Preventative Infrastructure”
Ghanaian Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia commissioned a new road this week built by the Chinese conglomerate Sinohydro and paid for as part of a $2 billion bauxite barter deal with the company. The timing of this new road opening, though, is ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
Jiang Zemin Created the Africa-China Relationship As We Know It Today
Ghana, IMF Differ Over Whether Chinese Bauxite Deal Should be Counted as Part of the Country’s National Debt
Ghana is moving to restructure its ballooning debt as part of an IMF rescue plan that's now under discussion between the two sides. As part of the process, Accra is reaching out to both local and international investors ...
Ghana Commissions First Roads Built Under Controversial Bauxite Deal
Ghana’s Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia this week commissioned the first road infrastructure built under a controversial $2 billion resource-for-infrastructure deal with the Chinese conglomerate Sinohydro. Bawumia was eager to claim the inauguration of 441 km of roads in the ...
Ghana’s Embassy in China Says It Had Nothing to Do With Aisha Huang’s Return
The Ghanaian government's efforts to distance itself from the exploding controversy over the re-arrest of illegal mining kingpin Aisha Huang (aka "the Galamsey Queen") has now reached the embassy in Beijing, where Ambassador Winfred Nii Okai Hammond said his mission did not issue her visa. ...
Galamsey Queen Update: Ghana’s President Digs the Hole Deeper
Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo has poured gasoline on the controversy around the recent re-arrest of En (aka Aisha) Huang, a Chinese national accused of returning to Ghana to engage in illegal gold mining despite being deported four years ago for similar crimes. ...
Week in Review: Illegal Mining in Ghana, U.S. Disillusionment in the DRC & #ChinaAfricaSpaceTalk
Aisha Huang, aka the "Galamsey Queen," surprised everyone when she was arrested again for illegal mining in Ghana. What does her arrest say about the government's efforts to combat illicit Chinese mining? Plus, a new report says the U.S. is "disillusioned" ...