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Building Better: What Shapes the Success of Chinese-Supported Power Projects?

After months, sometimes years, of negotiations, feasibility studies, and financial structuring, shovels hit the ground and concrete is poured. But the final outcome of a power project is not just a function of engineering inputs or Chinese execution. It also ...

Africa’s Energy Future: China’s Role and the Power of Data

As Africa confronts persistent energy gaps and mounting development challenges, China’s growing role in the continent’s electricity sector has far-reaching economic and geopolitical implications. Understanding the scope and impact of Chinese investment is crucial—not only for powering Africa’s industrial and social ...

Mapping Power Plants: What China’s Energy Footprint in Africa Tells Us

Over the last two decades, China has moved from the periphery to the very center of Africa’s power sector story. It has done so not quietly, but with the kind of scale, speed, and scope that makes it impossible to ignore. And yet, for all the attention ...

Chinese Companies Are Changing the Way They Operate in Africa

By Elisa Gambino and Costanza Franceschini For most of the past 25 years, Chinese construction companies operating in Africa could count on generous financial backing from Chinese banks. Between 2000 and 2019, Chinese funders committed almost $50 billion to African transport ...

China E-Mobility Weekly Digest: New Insurance, Local Startups, and Chinese Assembly Plans Signal EV Industry Maturity

This is a free preview of the upcoming Africa EVs Weekly Digest, part of the new CGSP Intelligence service. Africa’s electric mobility sector is gathering momentum, with new business models and infrastructure investments reshaping the landscape. In Kenya, ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

How to Lure Chinese Financing Back to the Global South: Report

Global South countries face increasing financing pressure, endangering their ability to keep developing while also implementing measures to deal with a growing climate crisis. The disruption of global trade is coupled with a larger megatrend: flows of international capital to the developing world have turned negative. This means that countries are now routinely paying more to service loans than they receive in disbursements.

The vast majority of Global South borrowers ...

Inside the Bid: How Chinese Power Projects Are Procured in Africa

Behind every power plant is a crucial decision: who gets to build it, and how. Whether a project is delivered on time and on budget often hinges on how it was procured. Was it awarded through a competitive bidding process or negotiated behind closed doors? Were contractors ...

South Africa Solar Boom Signals Rebellion Against “Malfunctioning Energy Systems”

In many African countries, the future of electricity generation lies in renewables, and South Africa, where over 85% of the energy comes from coal-fired power plants, is already undergoing a shift. Last year, South Africa imported Chinese ...

China E-Mobility Weekly Digest: Nigeria Exports First Made-in-Africa EV to U.S. as Chinese Automakers Step Up Global Push

This is a free preview of the upcoming Africa EV Weekly Digest, part of the new CGSP Intelligence service launching in Summer 2025. BYD is expanding its line-up for overseas markets by giving access to all of its China-developed ...

Wealthy Nigerians Turn to Chinese Solar Panels as Grid Falters

Wealthy Nigerians are fueling a surge in Chinese solar panel imports, underscoring the country’s deep energy crisis, where more than one-third of the population continues to live without access to electricity. While acknowledging the electricity access problem, Ebipere K. Clark, ...

Trump Tariffs Boosting Nigerian E-Commerce Giant

The CEO of the Nigerian e-commerce company Jumia says the Trump administration’s tariffs are easing its access to Chinese manufacturers. Francis Dufay told Bloomberg that trade barriers in the U.S. are forcing Chinese suppliers to find other markets, which benefits Nigerian consumers. This is strengthening Jumia’s hand ...

Recapping the Fundamentals: Key Lessons on Chinese Financing for Power Projects

The financing may be Chinese, the builders Chinese too, but the consequences are overwhelmingly those of the host state. Decisions, often made in boardrooms thousands of kilometers away, can shape the development trajectory of African countries for decades. That is why understanding how Chinese infrastructure projects are ...

China Launches Coordinated Media Campaign to Promote New Global Governance Initiative in Africa

The Chinese government launched what appears to be a coordinated media campaign across Africa to promote Beijing's new Global Governance Initiative (GGI), which President Xi Jinping announced at the recent Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. Over the past week, a mix of ...
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