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The News Feed is curated by CGSP’s editors in Asia and Africa.

WEEK IN REVIEW: Chinese Navy Destroyer Baotou Docks at Kenya’s Mombasa Port

TOPSHOT - This handout photo made available by the Iranian Army Office on March 11, 2025 shows the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy guided-missile destroyer Baotou (133) during joint military drills between Iran, Russia, and China in the Gulf of Oman. (Photo by Iranian Army office / AFP)
China and Russia led efforts within the United Nations to weaken and defund human rights-related investigations, according to a new report by the NGO International Service for Human Rights. The report said the attempts ...

Afghanistan–Pakistan Clashes Expose Deeper Threat of Cross-Border Terrorism, Says Chinese Scholar

Afghan relatives and mourners offer prayers during the funeral ceremony of victims, killed in aerial strikes by Pakistan, at the Urgun district of Paktika province on October 18, 2025. AFP
In early October, fierce fighting broke out along the 2,600-kilometer Durand Line separating Pakistan and Afghanistan, leaving hundreds of civilians dead or injured. The clashes only subsided after Qatar and Turkey brokered a ...

U.S. Pushes Argentina to Lessen Chinese Influence

Argentina's President Javier Milei (2nd L) during a meeting in the Cabinet Room at the White House in Washington, DC, on October 14, 2025. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP)
The United States is making its $40 billion financial rescue package to Argentina dependent on reducing China’s influence across numerous sectors, as well as giving the U.S. special access to key minerals. A report ...

Cuba Captures Chinese Fentanyl Kingpin Wanted by Mexico, U.S.

Mug shot of alleged fentanyl kingpin Zhang Zhidong when he arrested in Mexico on July 11, 2025. Image via the government of Mexico.
Cuba has arrested a Chinese fentanyl kingpin who escaped from custody in Mexico in July and is also wanted by the United States, Mexican security sources told AFP on Wednesday. The trafficker Zhi ...

More than 2,000 Arrests in Raid on Notorious Scam Hub in Myanmar

A September, 2025 file image of the KK Park complex in Myanmar's eastern Myawaddy township. Photo: LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA / AFP
Myanmar’s army said more than 2,000 people were arrested in a raid on KK Park, a notorious center for telecom scams close to the Thai border. The military reportedly also seized thirty terminals ...

China Eyes Trilateral Currency Swap With Japan and South Korea

China, Japan and South Korea are exploring a trilateral currency swap as existing Yuan, Won, and Yen lines near expiry. (Photo: STR / AFP)
China is talking with Japan and South Korea about a trilateral currency swap, a person familiar with the matter said. The aim is to build a stronger regional financial backstop as ...

Australia-U.S. Deal to Challenge China Rare Earths Reign: Mining Boss

US President Donald Trump (R) and Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese display an agreement on critical minerals they signed in the Cabinet Room at the White House in Washington, DC, on October 20, 2025. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)
China’s total domination of rare earths production could soon be challenged, a leading miner said Wednesday after the United States struck a breakthrough minerals deal with Australia. U.S. President Donald Trump signed a ...

EU, China to Hold ‘Urgent’ Talks on Rare Earth Curbs

File image of a piece of rare earth ore at a museum in Baotou, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Image via Xinhua.
EU and Chinese officials have agreed to meet in Brussels for “urgent” talks on China’s export controls on rare earths, EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said after speaking to his Chinese counterpart Tuesday. ...

China and Russia Align with Iran as Nuclear Deal Runs Out

A 2015 file image showing Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (C) smiling with parliament members on the day the Islamic republic's parliament approved its nuclear deal with world powers. (Photo by MEGHDAD MADADI / TASNIM / AFP)
China and Russia joined Iran in declaring the official end of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran Nuclear Deal, and UN Resolution 2231. The three countries sent ...

Indonesia Rejects U.S. Bid to Ban Chinese Ships in Tariff Talks

Indonesia's special economic advisor to the president, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, in Jakarta on August 16, 2024. Indonesia rejects a US bid to bar Chinese flagged or Chinese made ships as both sides race to finalize a 19% tariff deal. (Photo by Yasuyoshi CHIBA / AFP)
Indonesia Rejects U.S. Bid and pressing U.S. trade officials to allow the use of Chinese-flagged or China-built ships for its Washington-bound exports, warning that it “don’t want to give in to all ...

China Signals Support for Indonesia HSR; Debt Under Review

A Whoosh train in Jakarta. China backs Indonesia’s Jakarta–Bandung high-speed rail HSR as Jakarta pursues loan restructuring. (Photo: Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP)
China said it is ready to help keep Indonesia’s Jakarta–Bandung high-speed line running smoothly as Jakarta opens talks to restructure project loans. In Beijing on Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun emphasize that ...

U.S., Australia Sign Rare Earths Deal as Trump Promises Submarines

US President Donald Trump (R) and Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (C) sign a document on critical minerals as Vice President JD Vance (L) looks on in the Cabinet Room at the White House in Washington, DC, on October 20, 2025. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)
By Danny Kemp with David Williams in Sydney U.S. President Donald Trump signed a deal on rare earth minerals Monday with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and said Washington’s key ally would get ...

Australia Chides China Over Mid-Air Incident

Australia on Monday rebuked Beijing for “unsafe” military conduct, accusing a Chinese warplane of dropping flares near an Australian surveillance plane over the South China Sea. The Australian Poseidon was flying a surveillance ...

BYD Plans Big Push Into Africa’s Largest Auto Market

BYD's new Dolphin Surf EV showcased at a promotional event in Cape Town, South Africa on September 18, 2025. Image via BYD.
Chinese EV giant BYD unveiled plans to build out 300 charging stations across South Africa before the end of next year as part of a larger expansion drive in Africa’s largest auto market. “This ...

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 ...

China’s Economic Growth Slows Amid Sputtering Domestic Demand

Employees work on the production line at the Anhui Jingjiu Silk Company in Fuyang, east China's Anhui province, on October 20, 2025. (Photo by -STR / AFP)
By Peter Catterall and Isabel Kua China’s economic growth slipped below five percent in the third quarter of 2025, official data showed Monday, the slowest pace in a year in the face of ...

Shooting at Chinese-Run Mine in Zimbabwe Rekindles Tensions With Local Communities

Tensions between the Chinese business community and local residents in eastern Zimbabwe are boiling in the aftermath of a shooting earlier this month at a Chinese-run mine. The incident took place on ...

Aussie PM Meets Trump With Critical Minerals on Offer

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attends a press conference with Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister James Marape after the signing of the Pukpuk treaty at Parliament House in Canberra on October 6, 2025. Photo by DAVID GRAY / AFP
By David Williams Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meets with President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday, touting his country’s abundant critical minerals as a way to loosen China’s grip over global supplies. ...

China Boasts of Crackdown on Scam Centers on Myanmar Border

File image of alleged scam center workers and victims sit on the ground during a crackdown operation by the Karen Border Guard Force (BGF) on illicit activity at the KK Park complex in Myanmar's eastern Myawaddy township. STR/AFP
Chinese authorities are boasting of a sweeping crackdown on scam centers across the country’s southern border with Myanmar, days before a key political meeting in Beijing. Government statements published since Wednesday mention the ...

Chinese Leaders to Hash out Strategic Blueprint at Key Meeting

China's national emblem is seen ahead of the closing session of the National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 11, 2025. (Photo by Jade Gao / AFP)
By Peter Catterall China’s ruling Communist Party will on Monday kick off four days of key closed-door discussions, formulating core economic strategy for coming years as growth flags and trade headwinds mount. ...

Myanmar Junta Recaptures Town on China Trade Rout

Myanmar’s ruling junta said Saturday that it had recaptured a town on a trade highway to China from an ethnic armed group in the country’s war-wracked north. Following a 16-day operation, “on 16 ...

WEEK IN REVIEW: India–China Flights Ramp Up After Curbs Lifted

File image of Indian PM Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia on October 23, 2024. Image via @NarendraModi.
The UK will take targeted action against Chinese and Indian firms facilitating Russian oil access to the international market, Finance Minister Rachel Reeves said on Wednesday. London imposed sanctions on Russia’s biggest oil producers ...

Mass Arrests in Myanmar as Scam Gang Crackdown Heads to Court

An image from January 2025 showing the suspected criminal boss Wei Huairen being handed over to Chinese authorities. Photo: Xinhua
More than 57,000 Chinese nationals have been arrested in Myanmar amid a mass crackdown on gangs running telecoms fraud operations, frequently staffed by victims of trafficking. China’s Ministry of Public Security announced the ...

Apple to Work with China’s BYD in Vietnam Amid Pledges to Invest in China

(Photo by Michael Nguyen / NurPhoto / NurPhoto via AFP)
The U.S. tech behemoth Apple announced it will produce a range of new home appliances in Vietnam. The appliances include indoor security cameras, a hub from which home appliances can be controlled remotely, ...

Indonesia Confirmed 42 Chinese J-10C Jets Buy in $9 Billion Deal

File image of three Chinese-made J-10C fighter jets. Photo: AFP
Indonesia confirmed the purchase of 42 Chinese-made J-10C “Vigorous Dragon” fighter jets, ending months of speculation about the deal. “They will be flying over Jakarta soon,” Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin said Wednesday ...

Brazil President ’s BYD Endorsement Wins Fans on Chinese Social Media

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva riding in the 14th million BYD vehicle produced at the opening of the company's new factory in the South American country on October 9, 2025. Image via BYD.
Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has made an unusually public endorsement of a Chinese automaker. On October 9, Lula became the owner of a BYD Song Pro SUV, the company’s 14 millionth new ...

Cambodia’s Prince Group, Target of U.S. and UK Sanctions

Motorists ride past a branch of the Prince Bank in Phnom Penh on October 15, 2025. Photo by TANG CHHIN SOTHY / AFP
U.S. and UK authorities unveiled sanctions this week against Chen Zhi, a British-Cambodian tycoon accused of running cyberscam operations where workers, some trafficked, carry out transnational fraud schemes that have netted billions of ...

Japan Sidelines Chinese Immigrants as It Opens Door to India, Says Chinese Commentator

Popular online commentator Zhang Jie claimed that Japan's new immigration policies are specifically aimed to favor skilled Indian workers over those from China.
In August, India and Japan finalized a significant human resources partnership, agreeing to facilitate the exchange of 500,000 people over the next five years, including 50,000 skilled and semi-skilled Indian workers who will be ...

U.S. Expert on India Accused of China Meetings Denies Charges

Scholar Ashley Tellis, seen here at a 2007 engagement, has been charged with retaining classified information he kept while advising or working for the U.S. government, and meeting with Chinese officials. AFP PHOTO/SAUL LOEB (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)
A prominent U.S. scholar of India who was arrested after allegations of retaining classified documents and meeting Chinese officials is denying the charges against him, his lawyers said Wednesday. Ashley Tellis, 64, who ...

U.S. Treasury Chief: Beijing’s Rare Earths Move Is ‘China vs World’

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent looks on as US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer (not pictured) delivers remarks on "Game Plan for US Investment" on the sidelines of the IMF/World Bank annual meetings at CNBC Invest in America Forum, in Washington, DC on October 15, 2025. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent slammed Beijing’s rare earth export curbs Wednesday as “China versus the world,” vowing that Washington and its allies would “neither be commanded nor controlled.” “This should be a clear ...

Flurry of China-Global South Diplomacy

China's President Xi Jinping (2nd L) attends a meeting with Ghana's President John Mahama (2nd R) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on October 14, 2025. (Photo by Ichiro Banno / POOL / AFP)
Chinese President Xi Jinping met with his Ghanaian counterpart, John Dramani Mahama, on Tuesday, 14 October. It was one of several meetings on the sidelines of the Global Leaders’ Meeting on Women ...
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