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

South Africa’s Trade Minister Heads to China, Seeking Duty-Free Export Access

South African trade minister Parks Tau at the signing ceremony for SA's accession to the African Export Import Bank (Afreximbank) in Johannesburg on February 4, 2026. Image via @the_dtic.
South Africa’s trade minister Parks Tau will travel to China from Thursday to Saturday to sign the China–Africa Economic Partnership Agreement, which will see South African exports gain duty-free access to the Chinese market, Tau’s office ...
by Reuters

Trump, Xi Discuss Taiwan and Soybeans in Call Aimed at Easing China, US Relations

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping talk as they leave after a bilateral meeting at Gimhae International Airport, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, in Busan, South Korea, October 30, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo
By Trevor Hunnicutt and Xiuhao Chen China is considering buying more U.S.-farmed soybeans, President Donald Trump said after what he called “very positive” talks with President Xi Jinping on Wednesday, even as ...
by Reuters

Panama Hits Back After China Warns of ‘Heavy Price’ in Ports Row

Panama's President Jose Raul Mulino delivers a speech during the International Economic Forum Latin America and the Caribbean 2026, in Panama City, Panama, January 28, 2026. REUTERS/Aris Martinez
Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino on Wednesday rejected China’s threat to make the Central American country pay a “heavy price” after a Hong Kong company was evicted from two ports on the Panama ...
by Eric Olander

Nigeria’s NNPC in Talks With Chinese Company on Refinery, CEO Says

The logo of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is displayed at the company's booth during the Nigeria International Energy Summit at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre in Abuja, Nigeria, February 4, 2026. Reuters/Marvellous Durowaiye
By Camillus Eboh NNPC chief executive Bayo Ojulari said the company was seeking experienced operators as equity partners to revive its four refineries after years of losses and underperformance.
by Reuters

U.S. Proposes Critical Minerals Trade Bloc Aimed at Countering China

U.S. Vice President JD Vance speaks during the Critical Minerals Ministerial at the State Department in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 4, 2026. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
By Michael Martina, Simon Lewis and Jarrett Renshaw U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday unveiled plans to marshal allies into a preferential trade bloc for critical minerals, proposing coordinated price floors as ...
by Reuters

China Backs Pakistan’s Anti-Separatism Efforts Following Attacks

Bystanders walk past a burnt vehicle along a road on the outskirts of Quetta on February 1, 2026 a day after an attack by Baloch separatists. Photo by BANARAS KHAN / AFP
China’s Foreign Ministry condemned a recent spate of attacks by militants in the Pakistani province of Balochistan. A series of coordinated attacks from 31 January in more than ten cities left 30 civilians ...
by CGSP Staff

Xi, Putin Hail Ties in Video Call as Ukraine War Nears Anniversary

Russia's President Vladimir Putin holds talks with China's President Xi Jinping via video link from Moscow, Russia, February 4, 2026. Sputnik/Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Pool via REUTERS
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed their ties during a video call on Wednesday held in the run-up to the fourth anniversary of Moscow’s war in Ukraine. ...
by Reuters

Italy, France and Germany to Lead EU Critical Materials Stockpiling Plan, Sources Say

European Union flags flutter outside the EU Commission headquarters, on the day of a European Union leaders' summit in Brussels, Belgium, December 18, 2025. REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/File Photo
By Pratima Desai and Julia Payne The European Union is pushing ahead with plans to stockpile critical materials, with Italy, France, and Germany set to take leading roles as the bloc moves to cut reliance ...
by Eric Olander

Senators Push $70 Billion Funding Deal to Support Trump’s Critical Minerals Push, FT Reports

The United States Congress. SAUL LOEB / AFP
Senators will introduce legislation on Wednesday to reauthorize funding for the United States Export-Import Bank for the next decade, as lawmakers try to inject an extra $70 billion into the agency to support ...
by Eric Olander

China Announces Plans to Stockpile Commodities

Imported soybeans from Brazil being unloaded at Longkou Port, Shandong Province, China on June 17, 2025. (Photo by Tang Ke / CFoto / CFOTO via AFP)
The Chinese government has announced wide-ranging plans to build up its reserves of both mineral and agricultural commodities. The move comes as the Trump administration announced its Project Vault, a plan to stockpile ...
by CGSP Staff

Anger Mounts in Senegal Over Chinese Firm’s Sanitary Pad Scandal

Purple liquid being absorbed by a sanitary pad. There is mounting anger in Senegal against Softcare, a subsidiary of the Chinese group Sunda International over the alleged use of expired materials in sanitary pads and diapers. Photo / FOTOGRAV DI ANTONIO GRAVANTE/SCI / AGV / Science Photo Library / AFP
Anger is mounting in Senegal over the alleged use of expired materials in sanitary pads and diapers by a leading Chinese firm, which denies any wrongdoing or bribery. The West African country’s pharmaceutical ...
by Agence France-Presse

CK Hutchison Begins Arbitration Against Panama Over Annulled Canal Contract

The logo of CK Hutchison is pictured on a flag outside the Cheung Kong Center building in Hong Kong on March 27, 2025. (Photo by Peter PARKS / AFP)
Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK Hutchison said in a statement Tuesday it has initiated international arbitration against Panama, after a ruling by the country’s top court annulled a concession allowing it to operate ports ...
by Agence France-Presse

China’s Nanshan Group Plans 100,000-Bpd Refinery in Indonesia

By Chen Aizhu and Fransiska Nangoy China’s Shandong Nanshan Group plans to build an oil refinery on Indonesia’s Bintan island, where the privately controlled firm operates a large alumina plant, according to three Chinese ...
by Reuters

China Warns Panama of ‘Heavy Prices’ to Pay After CK Hutchison Contract Quashed

A vehicle passes by the administrative entrance to Balboa Port, at Panama Ports Company (PPC), after Panama’s Supreme Court annulled key port contracts held by the Hong Kong‑based CK Hutchison–owned firm, leaving the future of some Panama Canal operations uncertain, in Panama City, Panama, January 30, 2026. REUTERS/Aris Martinez/File Photo
China warned Panama on Tuesday there would be “heavy prices” to pay after a court ruling there annulled Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison’s contract to operate two ports at the Panama Canal. China’s Hong ...
by Eric Olander

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

Confusing Developments in “Development”

This week I’m in Brussels, where I took part in a workshop on how the EU should shape its development strategy in response to China’s global influence.
I have joked in the past that it feels like I’ve attended this same ‘EU, Africa, and External Development Partners’ conference for ten years straight. 

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Peru Exports Jump as China Trade Accelerates After Chancay Port Launch

View of the Chancay "megaport" in the small town of Chancay, 78 kilometers north of the Peruvian capital Lima, on October 29, 2024. (Photo by Cris BOURONCLE / AFP)
Peru’s exports hit a new record in 2025, jumping 21% from the prior year, fueled by the launch of a massive port on the country’s central coast. The South American country’s exports totaled ...
by Eric Olander

China’s BYD Designing New Model for India: Senior Official

BYD executive vice-president, Stella Li, gives an interview during the World Governments Summit in Dubai on February 3, 2026. She says that BYD is designing a new model for India. Photo / FADEL SENNA / AFP
China’s BYD, the world’s top electric carmaker, is preparing a new model for India as it looks to continue its rapid overseas growth, executive vice president Stella Li told AFP on Tuesday. Engineers at BYD’s ...
by Agence France-Presse

U.S. Targets China’s Dominance in Africa’s Critical Minerals With New Stockpile Plan

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks on the day he announced the creation of a critical mineral reserve, in the Oval Office at the White House, February 2, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
The United States is moving to build new stockpiles of critical minerals as part of an effort aimed at countering China’s dominance over supply chains that run through Africa and other parts of the ...
by CGSP Staff

China Calls Panama Court Ruling on CK Hutchison Port Contracts ‘Shameful, Pathetic’

A container ship Maersk El Alto is guided by tugboats at Panama Ports Company (PPC) after Panama’s Supreme Court annulled key port contracts held by the Hong Kong‑based CK Hutchison–owned firm on January 30, 2026. REUTERS/Aris Martinez
China on Tuesday called a Panama court ruling annulling CK Hutchison’s contracts to operate two Panama Canal ports “absurd,” “shameful and pathetic,” and vowed to defend Chinese firms’ interests. Panama’s Supreme Court last week 
by Reuters

Copper Rebounds on China Stockpiling, Stronger Risk Sentiment

A coil of copper rod sits on the production line for copper flat wire at the Wellascent factory in Ganzhou, Jiangxi province, China August 14, 2025. REUTERS/Florence Lo/File Photo
By Eric Onstad Copper prices rebounded on Tuesday after news that China plans to boost stockpiles of copper and as risk sentiment rekindled among global investors.
by Reuters

China Moves to Diversify Food Imports, Deepening Agricultural Ties With the Global South

China will be looking to source more of its food the Global South, including soybeans from Brazil. REUTERS/Rodolfo Buhrer/File Photo
By Ella Cao and Lewis Jackson China will stabilize grain and oilseed output, diversify agricultural imports and increase support for farmers, state media reported on Tuesday, citing a government rural policy blueprint aimed at ...
by Reuters

China’s Role Looms Over Ethiopia’s Stalled Debt Talks With Bondholders

A shop owner counts Ethiopian Birr in his stall at the Shola Market in Addis Ababa on December 4, 2023. Michele Spatari / AFP
Ethiopia’s debt restructuring negotiations are facing renewed strain as private bondholders push back against objections from the Official Creditor Committee, led by China and France.  Bondholders are complaining that they are being unfairly treated ...
by CGSP Staff

DeepSeek and the New Geography of China’s AI Influence

Source: Microsoft
A year after the China-based generative AI model DeepSeek made international headlines, its footprint has grown significantly, including in parts of the Global South, potentially shaping political information environments and competitive dynamics in ...
by CGSP Staff

Kenya Cuts Debt Costs With Yuan Swap as China Ties Reshape Financing

File image of Kenya's Standard Gauge Railway that China financed and built as part of the Belt and Road Initiative. Simon Mania/AFP
Kenya reduced its external debt-servicing costs by about $167 million after using a yuan-for-dollar currency swap linked to its debt with China. This is the first time Nairobi has specified the exact figure, after ...
by CGSP Staff

China’s Xi Calls for ‘Equal, Multipolar World’ as He Meets Uruguay Leader

Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi walks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, China, February 3, 2026. JESSICA LEE/Pool via REUTERS
China and Uruguay should work together to advance an “equal and orderly multipolar world”, President Xi Jinping told his counterpart Yamandu Orsi on Tuesday, as their nations signed up to cooperate in areas from ...
by Reuters

Visa-Free Brazil Lowers the Stakes for Chinese Firms Eyeing Latin America

Aerial view of Christ the Redeemer as fireworks to celebrate the New Year explode on Copacabana Beach during celebrations in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on January 1, 2026. Photo by EGBERTO RAS / AFP
As Brazil rolls out a visa-free regime for Chinese passport holders, observers see the move as going beyond tourism. It is a catalyst for China’s already flourishing investment in the Latin American powerhouse. Brazil has ...
by Han Zhen

As Australia Reconsiders Darwin Port, China’s Media Find Common Cause

Photo by DAVID GRAY / AFP
Two prominent Chinese media outlets, often seen as occupying opposite ends of the political spectrum, voiced similar concerns over Australia’s call for China to give up Darwin Port – although from different perspectives. Caixin, ...
by Han Zhen

China’s Teapots Buy Iranian Oil to Replace Venezuelan Supply, Sources Say

A view of refinery No. 2 (Phases 2, 3) of the​ South Pars Gas-Condensate field in Asalouyeh Seaport, north of the Persian​ Gulf in Iran. Photo by SAEID ARABZADEH / MIDDLE EAST IMAGES VIA AFP
By Siyi Liu Chinese independent refiners are buying discounted Iranian heavy crude to replace Venezuelan shipments that have stalled after the U.S. claimed control of the OPEC producer last month, two people with ...
by Reuters

Trump Launches $12 Billion Minerals Stockpile to Counter China

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks on the day he announced the creation of a critical mineral reserve, in the Oval Office at the White House, February 2, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
By Ernest Scheyder and Jarrett Renshaw U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans on Monday to launch a strategic stockpile of critical minerals backed by $10 billion in seed funding from the U.S. Export-Import ...
by Reuters

U.S. to Buy 100,000 Tonnes of Congolese Copper Sourced From a Chinese-Run Mine

File image of an open pit at Tenke Fungurume, a copper and cobalt mine owned by the Chinese mining giant CMOC Group located 110 km northwest of Lubumbashi in Congo's copper-producing south. REUTERS/Jonny Hogg//File Photo
The United States is going to source 100,000 tonnes of copper from the state-owned mining company in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gécamines, ostensibly to help the U.S. diversify its sourcing of ...
by Eric Olander

Claims U.S. Pressured Kenya to Halt Trade Deal With China Proven False, Says Fact Checking Group

Image via Africa Check
There is no evidence to support the social media meme that falsely claimed the United States pressured the Kenyan government to halt trade talks with China, according to the reputable fact-checking website Africa ...
by Eric Olander
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