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

Xi-Mohamud Handshake Proves Opposing China on Xinjiang Isn’t a Diplomatic Death Sentence for Small Countries

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud shaking hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the China-Arab Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on November 9, 2022. Image via the Chinese Embassy in Somalia.
Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was one of at least a dozen heads of state to do a brief meet-and-greet with Xi Jinping during the China-Arab summit in Saudi Arabia on ...
by Eric Olander

Contrasting U.S. and Chinese Diplomatic Styles on Full Display This Week

It’s rare for the U.S. and China to host major regional summits less than a week apart. But with the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit set to get underway in Washington, D.C., just a few ...
by Eric Olander

Media Frustrates White House Efforts to Avoid Making This Week’s Africa Summit About China

A US Military Honor Guard approaches Namibian President Hage Gottfried Geingob's plane as he arrives at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on December 11, 2022, to attend the US-Africa Leaders' Summit. The summit will take place in Washington, DC, December 13-15. OLIVER CONTRERAS / AFP
Senior African policy officials in the White House and State Department have been adamant that this week’s African leaders summit is about Africa… not China. But the international news media doesn’t appear to ...
by Eric Olander

Asia, Not Africa Most Likely Region For China to Set Up New Overseas Military Base, Says Rand Report

Assessed desirability and feasibility of potential PLA basing and access locations. Source: Reproduced from Garafola et al., 2022. Countries are listed in alphabetical order based on their location within the respective U.S. combatant commands’ areas of responsibility.
Four countries in Asia have been identified by researchers in the United States as the most likely places where China will set up a new military outpost. The findings by ...
by Eric Olander

China Launches New Site Dedicated to Belt and Road News in Africa

China’s state-run Xinhua news agency launched a new online portal that is ostensibly intended to serve as a hub for Belt and Road information in Africa.  The new site appears ...
by Eric Olander

Arab Media Expresses Optimism Towards the China-Arab Summit

Arab media showed optimism toward the China Arab Summit which kicks off Friday in Saudi Arabia. Only a few hours before its kick-off, Arab media says the summit reflects the “strong position” that ...
by Nesrine Kamal

WEEK IN REVIEW: United States to Increase Its Military Force Presence in Northern Australia

File image of a Jin-class nuclear submarine of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy. (Photo: Mark Schiefelbein/POOL/AFP)
The United States announced it will increase its military force presence in northern Australia in response to “China’s dangerous and coercive actions” in the Asia-Pacific region. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Tuesday the ...
by Eric Olander

Xi’s Saudi Trip Could Set the Scene for Long-Term Changes: Expert

HEADLINE TRANSLATION: Chairman XI's visit to Saudi Arabia promotes new development of China-Saudi Arabia relations.
While Chinese government spokespeople have called President Xi Jinping’s visit to Saudi Arabia ‘epoch-making,’ they’ve been a lot vaguer about the agenda for his meetings.  However, Tang Tianbo, a ...
by Cobus van Staden

For the Western Press, Xi’s Saudi Visit is All About the United States

A picture taken on December 7 2022, in Riyadh, shows the Chinese and the Saudi flags adorning a street ahead of Chinese president Xi Jinping's visit to the Saudi capital. Fayez Nureldine / AFP
The China-Middle East expert Jonathan Fulton complained on Twitter this week that many editors at major Western news outlets seem to have pre-decided their framing of Xi Jinping’s visit to Saudi ...
by Cobus van Staden

Washington and Beijing have Very Different Takes On Next Week’s U.S.-Africa Summit

Preparations are ramping up for next week’s U.S.-Africa leaders’ summit. 13-15 December will see leaders from 49 countries, as well as numerous businesspeople, civil society envoys, and journalists descending on ...
by Cobus van Staden

Western Calls to De-Risk African Projects Echo China’s Approach

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa (L) is welcomed by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the 48th G7 Summit from June 26 to June 28 at Elmau Castle, southern Germany. John MACDOUGALL / AFP
One of the underlying factors driving Chinese business in Africa is the role of state insurers like Sinosure in reducing the risk taken on by Chinese companies.  So it’s interesting to ...
by Cobus van Staden

$30 Billion of China-Saudi Deals to Be Signed During Xi’s Visit to the Kingdom

Chinese and Saudi Arabian officials will sign $29.62 billion worth of commercial deals this week during President Xi Jinping’s three-day visit to the Kingdom. In all, some 20 agreements will be inked, according ...
by Eric Olander

China-Saudi Trade is Booming… And Not Just Because of Oil

Source: Bloomberg
The obvious reason for Xi Jinping’s trip to Saudi Arabia is to foster closer ties with one of China’s largest oil suppliers (Russia and Saudi Arabia have been battling for the top spot ...
by Eric Olander

Beware of the Simple Media Narratives Warns China Scholar About Xi Visit to the Mideast

Atlantic Council Senior Fellow Jonathan Fulton has some advice for journalists covering Xi Jinping’s visit to Saudi Arabia: don’t fall for the simple narrative that this trip is about some kind of Great ...
by Eric Olander

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

The Pain of Un-Polarity

“THE G2 WILL BE CONVENING SHORTLY!”
This post by U.S. President Donald Trump in the run-up to his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping last week may end up leaving a more lasting mark than the actual summit he attended.

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With Xi Jinping Back on the Road, Ryan Hass Reflects on Where Chinese Diplomacy Goes From Here

Now that China is beginning to relax its draconian Zero COVID policies and President Xi Jinping has emerged from three years of diplomatic hibernation, Ryan Hass, a top China scholar at the Brookings ...
by Eric Olander

The China-Arab Summit: Arab Press Highlights the Need for Economic Partnerships and Political Alliances

Arab and regional press widely focused on the China-Arab summit scheduled this week in Saudi Arabia, highlighting its importance as a “turning point in the history of Sino-Arab relations.” Several writers shared their ...
by Nesrine Kamal

Chinese-Built Cross-Frontier Hydro System Inaugurated in Mali

Images of the recent inauguration ceremony of the Gouina Hydroelectric Dam, via Afro-Impact
This weekend saw the inauguration of the Gouina Hydroelectric dam and Malinguina hydropower station in Mali. Funded by the China Exim Bank and built by PowerChina, the facilities form ...
by Cobus van Staden

African Leaders Commemorate Jiang Zemin

African officials signing statements of condolence marking the passing of former Chinese President Jiang Zemin, via Twitter
African heads of state, ministers, and other high-ranking officials from countries as far afield as Equatorial Guinea and Burundi visited Chinese embassies and missions ...
by Cobus van Staden

What’s at Play in Xi Jinping’s Upcoming Visit to Saudi Arabia?

File image of Chinese President Xi Jinping, via AFP
Chinese President Xi Jinping will reportedly travel to Saudi Arabia this week for a state meeting and to attend the inaugural China-Arab Summit. This is a particularly important visit as Xi returns to ...
by Cobus van Staden

Why the Persian Gulf is China’s “New Africa”

Source: Janes IntelTrack via Financial Times
Fifteen years ago, Africa supplied a third of China’s imported oil and was a key recipient of foreign investment beyond its near abroad in east Asia. Today, a large portion of that energy ...
by Eric Olander

U.S. Officials Are Working Hard to Keep China Off the Agenda of Next Week’s Africa Leaders Summit

Robbie Gramer is a diplomacy and national security reporter at Foreign Policy.
The White House is working hard to make sure that China does not become a topic of conversation at next week’s U.S.-Africa leaders summit that will take place in Washington, D.C. “Our goal ...
by Eric Olander

China Playing “Aggressive Game” in Africa and the World, Says U.S. Trade Rep Katherine Tai

United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai spoke with Rama Yade of the Atlantic Council's Africa Center about China's trading practices in Africa. Image via The Atlantic Council.
The top U.S. trade official, Katherine Tai, acknowledged that Washington is increasingly facing difficulties in Africa and other regions because China, not the U.S., is most countries’ largest trading partner.
by Eric Olander

Partially Chinese-Financed Hydropower Dam Cuts Power Deliveries to Zambia, Zimbabwe Due to Lack of Water

The Chinese-financed/built Kariba Dam will cut power deliveries to both Zambia and Zimbabwe due to receding water levels.
Environmentalists have warned for years that southern Africa’s Chinese-financed hydroelectric building binge would eventually collide with the reality that the region doesn’t have enough water. Officials at the Zambezi River Authority ...
by Eric Olander

Buhari Lays Cornerstone For Chinese-financed ECOWAS Headquarters in Nigeria

Nigeria President Mohammadu Buhari commissioned the new Chinese-financed and built headquarters for the West African regional organization ECOWAS. Image
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari led a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Chinese-financed headquarters of the West African regional organization ECOWAS. The new $32 million facility will be entirely paid for by ...
by Eric Olander

With Apple Reducing Its Manufacturing Dependence on China, Why is So Much Going to Asia and So Little to Latin America?

File image of a Taiwan-owned manufacturing facility for Apple located 60km outside of Bangalore, India. Manjunath Kiran / AFP
Apple is reportedly moving faster to relocate more of its production to countries outside China and reduce its longtime dependence on Taiwan-based contract manufacturing giant Foxconn. Eventually, the Cupertino-based electronics ...
by Eric Olander

WEEK IN REVIEW: Saudi Arabia to Mark Chinese President Xi Jinping’s State Visit Next Week With a China-Arab Summit

China's President Xi Jinping attends the closing ceremony of the 20th Chinese Communist Party's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on October 22, 2022. Noel CELIS / AFP
Saudi Arabia will mark Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit from 7 to 9 December with a China-Arab summit, according to Saudi diplomats. Invitations to Middle Eastern and North African leaders have reportedly already ...
by Eric Olander

Xi’s Third Term Will Power Up Chinese Messaging in Africa

China's President Xi Jinping attends the closing ceremony of the 20th Chinese Communist Party's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on October 22, 2022. Noel CELIS / AFP
Xi Jinping’s third term will likely see the re-energizing and reshaping of China’s external relationships after its COVID lockdown. But how will China’s political engagement with Africa evolve?  In a ...
by Cobus van Staden

Zambia Hopes for Debt Deal by Q1 Next Year

File image of Zambian Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane discussing the country's national budget at the Zambian Institute of Chartered Accountants. Image via the Zambian Finance Ministry.
The International Monetary Fund’s head of strategy, Ceyla Pazarbasioglu, will travel to Beijing next week for meetings with Chinese officials as part of a push for progress on Zambia’s debt restructuring.  ...
by Cobus van Staden

Djibouti Has a Very Specific Debt Problem…

Source: World Bank data and Thierry Pairault, Emeritus Research Director at France’s National Centre of Scientific Research (CNRS) and at the EHESS Research Centre on Modern and Contemporary China (CECMC)
Djibouti this week reportedly suspended debt repayments to its two major creditors, China and Kuwait, due to a major increase in debt servicing costs likely caused by interest rate hikes and ...
by Cobus van Staden

China’s COVID Chaos Bites South African Trade

Workers and security personnel wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) guard the entrance to a residential area under lockdown due to Covid-19 coronavirus restrictions in Beijing on November 29, 2022. Noel CELIS / AFP
China’s COVID-related shutdowns and protests are hitting South African businesses. The Johannesburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) said the disruptions compounded earlier delays on the SA side.  “China is responsible ...
by Cobus van Staden
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