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

Thousands of Young People Gather Across Africa to Speak With Astronauts Aboard the Chinese Space Station

Chinese embassies in Africa organized the first-ever #ChinaAfricaSpaceTalk on Tuesday that connected young people across the continent with three astronauts aboard the Chinese Space Station. The event, organized in conjunction with ...
by Eric Olander

Transsion Keeps its Edge as Economic Downturn Hits African Consumers

A billboard in Uganda advertising Transsion’s Tecno phones. Image via Transsion.
Smartphone shipments to Africa have fallen by 7.9% as economic downturns hit consumer wallets, according to new research by the International Data Corporation, a U.S.-based telecom research group. Despite the fall, the Chinese brand Transsion ...
by Cobus van Staden

U.S. Reportedly “Disillusioned” Over China’s Continued Dominance in Congolese Mining Sector

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks with DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi at the start of the G20 Summit at the convention center "La Nuvola" in the EUR district of Rome on October 30, 2021. Ludovic MARIN / POOL / AFP
The Paris-based news service Africa Intelligence published an extensive report on Monday that details how the United States, despite its best efforts, has been unable to diminish China’s current dominance of the Congolese ...
by Eric Olander

Tech Companies’ Great Migration Out of China

Police in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu enforce a COVID lockdown where 21 million residents are now confined to their homes. CNS / AFP
Apple’s recently announced plans to speed up the production of its iPhone 14 in India is just one example of foreign manufacturers trying to lessen their dependence on Chinese factories. COVID-19 lockdowns, rising labor costs, ...
by Cobus van Staden

China’s Newest Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Makes Her Debut

Chinese newest Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Mao Ning, at the regular press briefing in Beijing. Image via the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
China’s Foreign Ministry’s spokespeople have the tricky job of being the human faces of a frequently opaque system. So China nerds were a-Twitter this week following the debut of Mao Ning, the Ministry’s newest representative.   ...
by Cobus van Staden

Chinese Astronauts Reach Out to African Kids

Three Chinese astronauts are holding a live chat with African youth directly from China’s orbiting space station today. The live Q&A session, scheduled for 11:00 GMT, is arguably a powerful soft power play ...
by Cobus van Staden

WEEK IN REVIEW: Russia and China Will Conduct Joint Military Exercises From 1 to 7 September

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping pose during their meeting in Beijing on February 4, 2022. Alexei Druzhinin / Sputnik / AFP
Russia and China will conduct joint military exercises from 1 to 7 September. However, the scale of this year’s exercises is much smaller than before. Similar exercises four years ago involved 300,000 troops. This ...
by Eric Olander

China is Using its Cobalt Playbook to Corner Lithium Supplies

Source: United States Geological Survey via Reuters
Chinese mining companies are moving quickly to snap up some of the world’s largest lithium mines, mostly located in South America’s so-called “Lithium Triangle” that stretches across Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile. Since 2018, ...
by Eric Olander

Trend Watch: Chinese Companies Moving Fast to Develop New EV Batteries

China’s largest battery makers are moving quickly to introduce a new generation of power packs for electric vehicles that, in some cases, don’t use controversial metals like cobalt. There are two main players ...
by Eric Olander

Top Australian Official to Visit Ghana Amid Bitter Sino-Aussie Mining Controversy

Australian Assistant Foreign Minister Tim Watts will travel to Ghana to try and resolve a bitter three-way dispute involving the Ghanaian government and two mining companies from Australia and China. Image via @TimWattsMP.
Australia’s Assistant Foreign Minister Tim Watts will travel to Ghana later this month to personally intervene in a rapidly escalating three-way controversy involving the Ghanaian government and a pair of mining ...
by Eric Olander

China’s Top Diplomat For Africa Leads Discussion on Infrastructure Development in Southern Africa

The Chinese Foreign Ministry's Director-General for Africa, Wu Peng, led a virtual roundtable this week on infrastructure development in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC).
The African Union’s representative office in Beijing co-hosted a roundtable discussion this week on Chinese infrastructure development in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC).   China’s top diplomat for Africa, Wu Peng (center top), ...
by Eric Olander

China Appoints Veteran Diplomat to Senior Africa Role

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zhao Lijian announced on Wednesday that veteran Chinese diplomat Liu Yuxi will replace Beijing’s outgoing Special Representative on African Affairs, Xu Jinghu. Liu assumes the role with 
by Eric Olander

There’s a Creeping Sense Last Week’s Japan’s Africa Summit Was Kind of Underwhelming

Japan's Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi attends a press conference after the closing session of the eighth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) in Tunisia's capital Tunis on August 28, 2022. FETHI BELAID / AFP
The post-mortems of last week’s Tokyo International Conference on African Development are starting to come in and the reviews, at least from some in the Japanese media, are not very encouraging.  One of ...
by Eric Olander

Sicomines Boss Moves to Bolster Ties in Kinshasa to Avoid the Problems Other Chinese Mining Companies Face in DRC

Sicomines General Manager Li Sheng posing with DRC Minister of Infrastructure and Public Works, Alexis Gisaro, in Kinshasa. Image via Sicomines.
The head of one of China’s largest mining companies in the DR Congo, Li Sheng, traveled last week from the southern cobalt and copper belt in the south to do some in-person lobbying ...
by Eric Olander

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

China-Led Study Proposes Global Energy Network

A globally connected network of solar and wind energy could provide three times the global energy demand by 2050 at a lower cost than independent national power systems. This is the finding of a study led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in collaboration with researchers from the United States and Denmark.
The study focused on how areas with high solar and wind capacity (such as deserts) can be linked ...

Mnangagwa Says He’ll Send a Plane to China to Bring Back Engineers So They Can Finish Critical Infrastructure Projects

Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa (far right) called for Chinese engineers to return to finish key infrastructure projects.
Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa said he’s willing to send charter planes to China to bring back engineers and other high-skilled infrastructure experts to Zimbabwe so they can finish critical infrastructure projects. The President ...
by Eric Olander

China, Japan Are Kenya’s Top Infrastructure Financiers This Year

File image of the Nairobi Western bypass road that is being built and financed by China.
China and Japan are collectively financing half a billion dollars worth of Kenyan infrastructure projects in the current fiscal year, more than any other country, according ...
by Eric Olander

China Daily’s Use of the Word “Investments” is Highly Misleading

A report in the state-run newspaper China Daily that touted China’s “investments” in Africa’s burgeoning sustainable energy sector was misleading and highlights a common problem surrounding the use of the word “investments” in ...
by Eric Olander

More Chinese Flood Aid to Pakistan

Aerial view shows a flooded residential area after heavy monsoon rains in Balochistan province on August 29, 2022. Fida HUSSAIN / AFP
China will provide additional humanitarian aid, including 25,000 tents, to flood-devastated Pakistan, China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Monday. The Red Cross Society of China will also provide $300,000 in emergency cash assistance to ...
by Cobus van Staden

Fox News Blames Biden for China in the Solomon Islands 

Conservative U.S. pundit and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich appeared on Fox News on Monday to discuss China's engagement in the South Pacific.
U.S. concerns about Chinese influence in the Solomon Islands have crossed a notable rhetorical red line: it is now a talking point on Fox News. This turns it from an obscure geopolitical spat to a ...
by Cobus van Staden

South African Anti-Foreigner Campaign Targets Chinese

Twitter footage of the Operation Dudula protests in Johannesburg this weekend
The worrying escalation of xenophobia in South Africa is reportedly now hitting the country’s Chinese community. Under the banner of Operation Dudula (‘force out’ in isiZulu), protesters marched to the China City mall ...
by Cobus van Staden

China’s Xinjiang Messaging to the Global South in Action

Liu Yongfeng is an official at the Chinese embassy in Egypt
Diplomats from African and Asian countries are currently on a Chinese government-organized tour of the Xinjiang region.  Official Twitter accounts and the Chinese state press provide a glimpse of these diplomats’ role in Chinese counter-messaging operations ...
by Cobus van Staden

China’s Volleyball Team Takes No Chances

China’s Wang Yifan (right) spikes the ball during the Asian Volleyball Confederation Cup match against Iran in Pasig on August 25, 2022. AFP
If you were still wondering, after months of lockdowns, China isn’t messing around when it comes to COVID-19 protocols.  Case in point: the Chinese national women’s volleyball team competed in a game against ...
by Cobus van Staden

China Hits Back at TICAD 8

Japanese officials may have tried to downplay their rivalry with China in Africa, but the response from Beijing put the inflamed relationship between the countries front and center. China’s state-owned Global Times sharply criticized the ...
by Cobus van Staden

African Development Bank Collaboration Reveals Overlaps Between Japan’s and China’s Goals

African Development Bank head Akinwumi "Akin" Adesina gave an "elated" thank you to Japan for its $5 billion pledge for private sector assistance in Africa. Image via @AfDB_Group
A key announcement at TICAD 8 was that Japan will provide $5 billion to the African Development Bank (AfDB) under the fifth phase of the Enhanced Private Sector Assistance for Africa initiative (EPSA) from 2023 ...
by Cobus van Staden

How Do TICAD and FOCAC Differ?

While TICAD and the Forum for China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) hone in on similar areas of cooperation (training, connectivity, infrastructure), their approaches differ in important ways.  This article by Peter Fabricius for the South African ...
by Cobus van Staden

Questions About China’s Debt Writeoff

While the Chinese government hasn’t yet released a full list of the zero-interest loans to poor countries, it will write off, that hasn’t stopped some African governments from celebrating.  Togo signaled cautious optimism, saying ...
by Cobus van Staden

Happiness in Kenya as Avos Reach the Chinese Market

Chinese customs officers inspect some of the 45 tons of recently arrived Kenyan avocados. Image via Xinhua.
The first consignment of Kenyan avocados finally reached the Chinese market after years of hoop-jumping by Kenyan farmers.  The delivery was officially handed over by Kenya’s ambassador, Mary Muthoni, during a ceremony in Beijing. Reportedly ...
by Cobus van Staden

Huawei’s Solar Pivot Widely Promoted in Africa

As the Chinese technology giant Huawei finds its traditional internet business increasingly contained due to pressure in the Global North, it’s pivoting towards green energy in the Global South. Huawei recently blanketed the African press with paid ...
by Cobus van Staden

How Effective are China’s Press Junkets for African Journalists? Pretty Effective.

Mohamed Osman Abdi is a journalist based in Mogadishu.
As China opens back up after the pandemic, journalists are again being flown in from across the Global South for junkets – a key form of influence-building for Beijing.  If you wondered whether these tours ...
by Cobus van Staden

WEEK IN REVIEW: The European Union (EU) and the association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Will Hold a National Leaders Summit in December for the First Time

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks during a media conference at EU headquarters in Brussels on February 8, 2022. Virginia Mayo / POOL / AFP
The European Union (EU) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will hold a national leaders summit in December for the first time to discuss expanding trade and infrastructure assistance.  Relocating some of Europe’s ...
by Eric Olander
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