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

WEEK IN REVIEW: Vietnam Surpasses China in U.S. Apparel Market

Workers stitch apparels at a garment factory in Vietnam's Thai Nguyen Province on July 2, 2025. (Photo by Nhac NGUYEN / AFP)
Brazil exported 77 million tons of soybeans to China in the first eight months of the year, more than enough to offset the loss of the U.S. as a supplier, according to new ...
by CGSP Staff

Japan, Philippines Inaugural Joint Exercises Begin as China Announces Plans for South China Sea Drills

A Japan Air Self-Defense Force C-130 arrived at the Brigadier General Benito N. Ebuen Air Base in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu for the first joint drill between the Philippines and Japan under the Reciprocal Access Agreement. Image via the Philippines Air Force.
Japan and the Philippines kicked off a five-day joint air force exercise this week on the central island of Cebu, marking the first time the two militaries have trained together since a Reciprocal Access ...
by Eric Olander

After Kenya Secures Landmark Railway Debt Deal With China, Indonesia Eyes a Similar Renegotiation

China's Premier Li Qiang (L) walks with Indonesia's Minister of Investment and Downstream Policy Rosan Roeslani upon Li's arrival at the Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport in Jakarta on May 24, 2025. (Photo by YASUYOSHI CHIBA / AFP)
Indonesia’s Investment Minister Rosan Roeslani confirmed on Wednesday that talks are underway with Chinese creditors to restructure the $7.3 billion of debt owed by the Sino-Indonesian joint venture that operates the Whoosh high-speed railway. ...
by Eric Olander

China Races to Stockpile Cheap Oil, Expanding Strategic Reserves Amid Global Tensions

The first single-series crude oil storage tank of China's 10 million-ton refinery, Sinopec Qingdao Refining & Chemical Company, Qingdao City, Shandong Province, China on July 22, 2025. (Photo by Liu Qiang / CFoto / CFOTO via AFP)
China is in the midst of a massive oil stockpiling campaign that will add at least 169 million barrels of crude to its strategic reserves over the next year. So far, 37 million barrels ...
by Eric Olander

China Bolsters Export Controls on Rare-Earth Industry

File image of a piece of rare earth ore at a museum in Baotou, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Image via Xinhua.
China announced further controls Thursday on the export of rare-earth technologies and items, adding to existing regulations on the critical industry. Rare earths have represented a major sticking point in recent trade negotiations ...
by Agence France-Presse

China Uses Green Messaging to Bolster South China Sea Claims Amid Nature Preserve Push

A CGTN Facebook post of a Xinhua environmental story in the South China Sea
There’s been a noticeable increase in recent weeks in the number of environmentally themed news stories published by China’s state-backed outlets Xinhua and CGTN, focused specifically on the South China Sea. On Tuesday, 
by Eric Olander

China–Kenya Security Talks Take on Weight Amid U.S. Concerns

Chinese ambassador to Kenya Guo Haiyan met with Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen on October 6, 2025, in Nairobi. Image via the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation.
China’s envoy to Kenya, Guo Haiyan, paid a courtesy call to Kenya’s Interior Ministry on Monday, where she met with Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen for talks focused on enhancing cooperation in law enforcement, ...
by Eric Olander

Kenya Swaps $3.5 Billion in Chinese Railway Debt From Dollars to Yuan, Cutting Costs and Boosting Beijing’s RMB Push

Exterior of Kenya's National Treasury headquarters in Nairobi. Yasuyoshi CHIBA / AFP
Kenya and China have agreed to restructure the East African country’s loan portfolio by converting an estimated $3.5 billion of outstanding debts from U.S. dollars into Chinese yuan. The amount is believed to be ...
by Eric Olander

China to Stockpile 169 Million Barrels of Oil by 2026

An oil tanker leaves its berth from Longkou port in Yantai, China, on December 22, 2024. China will stockpile 169 million barrels of oil by 2026, as a reserve, adding 11 sites. (Photo by Costfoto/NurPhoto) (Photo by CFOTO / NurPhoto / NurPhoto via AFP)
China is expanding its crude oil reserves with new storage sites scheduled for completion in 2025–2026. The effort will add at least 169 million barrels of capacity across 11 locations, according ...
by Edwin Shri Bimo

Vietnam Now Second in Southeast Asia’s China-Led EV Market

Low-priced China's EVs are driving Southeast Asia’s surge. Vietnam is now second in Southeast Asia’s China-led EV market. (Photo: Nhac NGUYEN / AFP)
China’s low-priced electric cars are powering Southeast Asia’s EV surge, and Vietnam has emerged as the region’s No. 2 market year-to-date on company-reported figures, closing on Thailand’s lead. The comparison is ...
by Edwin Shri Bimo

Chinese Carmakers Dominate Thailand’s EV Market as Safety and Warranty Gaps Raise Concerns

The interior of a BYD Dolphin. Chinese carmakers hold over 70% of Thailand’s EV sales. A TCC study warns safety, warranty and after-sales gaps. (Photo / BYD)
Chinese carmakers account for more than 70% of Thailand’s electric-vehicle sales this year, but a new Thailand Consumer Council study says gaps in safety, warranty, and after-sales rules leave buyers exposed. Thailand ...
by Edwin Shri Bimo

India and Pakistan Are Still Arguing Over How Many Chinese Fighter Jets Were Shot Down in Last May’s War

File image of a J-10C Pakistan Air Force fighter jet. Image via the Pakistan Air Force.
More than five months after India and Pakistan engaged in a brief military conflict in early May, the two countries are still squabbling over how many of each other’s fighter jets they shot ...
by Eric Olander

New Insights Emerge About Iran’s Secretive (and Very Lucrative) Trade With China

View of refinery No. 5 (Phases 9, 10) of the​ South Pars Gas-Condensate field in Asalouyeh Seaport, north of the Persian​ Gulf in Iran. Photo by Saeid Arabzadeh / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP)
It’s been an open secret for years that China and Iran figured out some very creative ways to circumvent international sanctions to conduct billions of dollars in trade every year. Until now, though, ...
by Eric Olander

China’s Premier to Visit North Korea This Week

Chinese Premier Li Qiang speaks during the EU-China Business leaders symposium at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on July 24, 2025. (Photo by Mahesh Kumar A. / POOL / AFP)
China’s premier will pay an official visit to North Korea this week, Beijing said Tuesday, announcing the high-level diplomatic engagement to the isolated nuclear state. Despite periods of strained ties between China and ...
by Agence France-Presse

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

Eye-Rolling Through the Apocalypse

November’s COP30 gathering in Belém, Brazil, marks three decades since COP1 in Berlin in 1995, and raises a sobering reminder of how deep we’ve sunk into a climate morass of our own making amid non-stop warnings. The evacuation of millions of people and the deaths of at least seventeen due to Typhoon Ragasa’s rampage through the Philippines, Taiwan, and China couldn’t have been more pointedly timed as U.S. and Chinese ...

New China-Africa Air Cargo Route From Hainan to Kenya, South Africa

The Kenyan cargo airline Astral Aviation launched new direct service between the southern Chinese island province of Hainan and Africa, with service to both Nairobi and Johannesburg. The first flight took off late ...
by Eric Olander

Zambian Perceptions of China Rebound After Ten-Year Decline, Says Afrobarometer

Public opinion of China among Zambians rebounded for the first time last year after a decade of steadily falling, according to the findings of Afrobarometer’s latest survey. While Zambians were more upbeat about ...
by Eric Olander

Chinese FDI in Vietnam Rises as Payouts Hit 5-Year High

File image of an apparel factory in Hanoi, Vietnam that manufactures activewear for various international clothing brands. (Nhac NGUYEN / AFP)
Chinese FDI in Vietnam ranked as the second source of newly licensed foreign projects in Vietnam in the first nine months of 2025, according to Vietnam’s National Statistics Office (NSO). The country ...
by Edwin Shri Bimo

Brazil and China Launch $1 Billion Fund to Boost Strategic Investments

Exterior of the China Exim Bank headquarters in Beijing. Image via Xinhua.
Brazil and China unveiled plans for a $1 billion bilateral investment fund, with Brazil’s Development Bank contributing about $400 million and China’s Export-Import Bank committing the remainder. The new fund will target sectors ...
by Eric Olander

China Warns Mexico Over Escalating Trade Fight as Tariff, Anti-Dumping Actions Mount

File image of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce headquarters in Beijing. Image via Xinhua.
The Chinese government warned Mexico that it would “take all necessary measures” to protect its interests in a rapidly escalating trade dispute between the two countries. China’s powerful Ministry of Commerce issued a ...
by Eric Olander

China-Built Frigate for Cambodia Clears Trials; Second Ship at 50%

Cambodia’s first China-built Type 056C frigate clears trials; the second ship is 50% as naval cooperation deepens at Ream Base. (Photo: Tea Banh Facebook)
One of two China-built frigates for Cambodia has completed assembly and passed technical trials, with a second vessel halfway built, former Cambodia defense minister Tea Banh said in a Facebook post dated ...
by Edwin Shri Bimo

Indonesia Lifts TikTok License Suspension as App Shares Data

LOIC VENANCE / AFP
Indonesia lifted its suspension of TikTok’s local operating license after the social media platform shared data requested by the government about recent protests, the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs said. Indonesia has the ...
by Agence France-Presse

Chinese Youth Fear India Will Seize Job Opportunities Under New K Visa

HEADLINE TRANSLATION: “Oh no! Are large numbers of Indians eyeing China and getting ready to move in?”
A recent commentary from College Daily, the largest media platform for Chinese students overseas, examines how China’s newly launched K visa, set to take effect on October 1, is already drawing unusual attention abroad—particularly ...
by Han Zhen

From U.S. Tariffs to Chinese Tables: How Brazil’s Beef Sector Adapted to China’s Changing Appetite

File image of Chinese shoppers buying beef at a supermarket. Image via Global Times.
An article on China Meat Food Network 中国肉类食品网 examines how U.S. tariff policies have disrupted Brazil’s beef exports and how China’s growing appetite for high-quality, affordable beef has helped Brazil weather the storm. After ...
by Han Zhen

Inside China’s African Rail Projects: A Translator’s Unexpected Video Diary

A Chinese translator at a railway construction project in Guineé shares insights of his daily life and how much he earns.
A young Chinese man working as a bilingual English–French translator on Guinean infrastructure projects has found an unusual way to connect with Chinese youth. On the video platform Bilibili, he opened an account to document ...
by Han Zhen

Indonesia Suspends TikTok License Over Failure to Share Data

(Photo by Yasuyoshi CHIBA / AFP)
Indonesia’s government has suspended the operating licence of video-sharing app TikTok because the platform refused to share data about recent anti-government protests, the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs said on Friday. Indonesia ...
by Agence France-Presse

Bookings Open for First India–China Direct Flights Since Pandemic Suspension

India and China will resume direct flights between their two countries this month after a five-year suspension, officials said, with bookings opening on Friday. Direct flights between the world’s two most populous countries ...
by Agence France-Presse

China’s COMAC in Advanced Talks With AirAsia on Jet Sales

The C919 jet of Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) in Vietnam on February 27, 2024. AirAsia’s Tony Fernandes says they are in advanced talks with China’s COMAC on narrow-body jets; for Chinese tech and faster delivery. Image via VNExpress.
China’s state-linked planemaker COMAC is in advanced talks with Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia to sell narrow-body jets. “We’re in active discussions. I can confirm that,” AirAsia Tony Fernandes said. “We ...
by Edwin Shri Bimo

China-India Direct Flights to Resume After Long Suspension

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.
China and India will restart direct flights between selected cities “by late October,” India’s embassy in China said, calling the move part of New Delhi’s “approach towards gradual normalization of relations between ...
by Edwin Shri Bimo

WEEK IN REVIEW: China’s BYD Projects One Million EV Deliveries Abroad

For the first time, Chinese EV firms invested more abroad than at home in 2024, led by Southeast Asia assembly plants. Yet core battery cell production remains in China, Rhodium data shows. Image via BYD Brazil
China is reportedly curbing the use of European tech in its communication networks. State buyers of internet and mobile phone components have to submit contracts with companies like Sweden’s Ericsson and Finland’s Nokia for ...
by CGSP Staff

China Connects Alipay, WeChat to Indonesia’s QR Code QRIS

Indonesia and China launch a pilot linking QRIS with Alipay and WeChat, enabling cross-border QR payments with local-currency settlement. The logo of Alipay, January 2025. (Photo Illustration by Costfoto/NurPhoto) (Photo by CFOTO / NurPhoto / NurPhoto via AFP)
China’s central bank will enable Indonesia’s QR code standard, QRIS, to link with Alipay and WeChat Pay, a new step in an ongoing pilot with Bank Indonesia (BI). The link would let Indonesians ...
by Edwin Shri Bimo
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Most Read

1
Developing Countries’ Debt Servicing Costs to China Are Significant, but Nowhere Near as Much as Other Creditors
2 Chinese Military Fans Discuss Why Indonesia Bought Rafale Instead of J-10C
3 From J-10C to Kaan? Indonesia’s Fighter Jet Deal With Turkey Shocks Chinese Military Fans
4
Indonesia Goes Nuclear, Taps China and Russia for Modular Reactors
5
Chinese Cargo Planes Secretly Ferrying Supplies to Iran, Claim Online Sleuths
6
Uncertainty Roils Minerals Markets

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