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

Chinese Mobile Phone Brands Lead Africa’s Mobile Phone Market Rebound

Chinese mobile phone brands led by Shenzhen-based Transsion hold firm to their places as the unrivaled market leaders in Africa’s mobile phone market, according to second-quarter data from the technology ...
by Eric Olander

Chinese Oil Buyers Have a Renewed Appetite for Angola Crude

After a quiet past few months when oil prices slid from the once heady highs, Chinese refiners are showing signs of increased demand for Angolan crude. Traders in Asia and Europe told Reuters ...
by Eric Olander

Even Amid a Pandemic, Chinese FDI in Africa Jumped Almost 10% Last Year

Chinese foreign direct investment in Africa increased by 8% in 2020 compared to the previous year, from $2.7 billion to $2.96 billion. Including the 2020 investments, the total Chinese FDI on the continent ...
by Eric Olander

Now That Chinese-Owned OPay Has Become Africa’s Third Tech Unicorn, the Magnitude of What Happened Last Week is Starting to Settle In

When the Chinese-owned African mobile money app OPay wrapped up a massive $400 million investment round led by Japan’s Softbank and a who’s who of Chinese venture capital firms, the magnitude of what ...
by Eric Olander

Chinese Vaccines Trickle Into Africa at a Slow, Steady Pace But Hardly Enough to Make a Big Impact

Chinese vaccine shipments to Africa increased by 2.4 million since last week to 56.3 million total doses delivered to date. As of this week, Africa accounts for just 8% of China’s total global ...
by Eric Olander

China’s Ambassador to South Africa is Putting Himself in the Middle of the COVID Origin Dispute With the U.S.

China’s ambassador to South Africa, Chen Xiaodong, is emerging as a key voice in the bitter dispute with the United States over the origins of COVID-19. The ambassador has steadily escalated his critiques ...
by Eric Olander

Meet Zhou Aile, An Aspiring Chinese Social Media Star From Gabon

Zhou Aile, or Paula as she’s known back home in Gabon, first moved to China 13 years ago to study Mandarin. Since then, Zhou, like other ambitious young African expats, has been working ...
by Eric Olander

The DR Congo Government Now Has Sicomines in its Sights as the Investigation Into Chinese Mining Contracts Advances

DR Congo President Félix Tshisekedi standing next to Sicomines Director-General Li Sheng during a visit to the Chinese joint venture mining company in May. Photo via Xinhua.
The Congolese government started its review of Chinese mining contracts trying to land a big fish, by launching a commission to investigate China Molybdenum’s massive Tenke Fungurume (TFM) cobalt and copper mine in ...
by Eric Olander

China’s Ambassador to the DRC Tries to Calm Tensions in Meeting With Mining Minister

Chinese ambassador Zhu Jing meeting with DR Congo Minister of Mines N'samba Kalambayi. Image via Chinese embassy in DRC.
Chinese ambassador to the DR Congo, Zhu Jing, paid a visit on Friday to Minister of Mines N’samba Kalambayi in an effort to calm rising tensions over videos depicting 
by Eric Olander

In Characteristically Bombastic Fashion, PRC Embassy Says Chinese Companies in the DRC Are the Victims of “Rumors and Slander”

TWEET TRANSLATION: We support Chinese companies to defend their rights and legitimate interests in accordance with Congolese law. In Sino-Congolese friendly cooperation, there is no room for lies, defamation, and demonization.
The Chinese embassy in Kinshasa rallied to the defense of its embattled mining companies in the DRC, blaming recent controversies on “individuals who have fabricated stories and spread false information to attack and ...
by Eric Olander

Zambia’s New Finance Minister Says a Deal With the IMF is Key, Avoids Any Mention of Chinese Debt

Zambia’s newly-named finance minister Situmbeko Musokotwane said he’s going to prioritize closing a restructuring deal with the International Monetary Fund because it would give creditors confidence and the government cheaper and longer-term financing.
by Eric Olander

MSA Capital is the Chinese VC Firm to Watch When it Comes to Investing in African Start-Ups

Announcing yet another early-stage Africa-focused company being backed by the Beijing-based MSA Capital is becoming a monthly ritual. African mobile money start-up PawaPay is the latest to attract MSA Capital ...
by Eric Olander

The African Union Is the Latest International Organization to Receive COVID-19 Donations From China

The African Union Union Commissioner for Political Affairs, Bankole Adeoye, took delivery late last week of a batch of 15,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccines donated by the Chinese government. Chen Xufeng, the ...
by Eric Olander

Uganda Set to Receive More Chinese COVID Vaccines

Chinese ambassador Zhang Lizhong and Ugandan Vice President Jessica Alupo announced on Friday that China would provide a second shipment of 300,000 vaccines. It’s not clear from the announcement if the vaccines will ...
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 ...

Week in Review: Doses, Detainees and Diplomacy

A worker at the Egypt’s Vacsera pharmaceutical plant preparing locally made Sinovac vaccines that were made available for distribution this week. Image via the Egypt Ministry of Health.
Interpol has canceled the red notice arrest warrant requested by China for Uyghur activist Yidiresi Aishan, who was detained in Morocco last month. The red notice flagging Aishan as a member of “terrorist” ...
by Eric Olander

Chinese Mining Giant Denies Media Reports Its Mining Contracts in the DRC Are Under Investigation

HEADLINE TRANSLATION: U.S. Media said a Chinese mining company in the DRC was the target of an investigation (but) that's now been clarified
China Molybdenum Co. (aka China Moly), the world’s second-largest copper and cobalt mining company, has denied reports that its contracts for the massive Tenke Fungurume Mine (TFM) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...
by Eric Olander

China Plans to Ramp Up Digital Engagement in Africa

China's Assistant Foreign Minister Deng Li delivered the keynote speech at the opening ceremony of China-Africa Internet Development&Cooperation Forum held by Cyberspace Administration of China. Image via MOFA.
The Chinese government announced new plans this week to increase engagement in Africa’s tech sector by expanding partnerships in a number of areas including digital economy, smart cities, and 5G mobile communications.   “China will share ...
by Cliff Mboya

New Paper Calls For the Creation of a China-Africa Digital Currency Trading Hub

With cryptocurrencies becoming more popular around the world, China is now moving quickly to establish its own digital currency as a global standard, particularly in emerging markets like Africa where the mobile payment ...
by Eric Olander

Don’t Blame Cheap Chinese Imports For Destroying Nigeria’s Textile Industry: It’s Our Fault, Say Industry Leaders

Nigerian style apparel available for sale on the Chinese e-commerce platform Aliexpress.
Nigeria’s once-thriving textile sector is now fast disappearing due largely to competition from Chinese imports. But don’t blame the Chinese, said Mansur Ahmed, president of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, ...
by Eric Olander

Fake… Pathetic… Losers… Liars… All in a Single Raging Chinese Diplomatic Tweet

The Chinese embassy in Zimbabwe has proved yet again how easy it is to provoke them into a furious froth on Twitter. The embassy took aim at well-known Zimbabwean journalist Hopewell Chin’ono who re-tweeted 
by Eric Olander

African Oil Exports to China Plunge in July

China’s crude oil imports from Africa fell sharply last month with demand expected to remain flat through the third quarter. Overall, shipments from African exporting countries fell 5.1% from June and but plummeted ...
by Eric Olander

Ethiopia Moves to Restructure SOE Debt, No Word Though On China Loans

Ahmed Shide Minister of Finance signing an agreement to transfer the domestic liabilities of six State-Owned Enterprises that will be guaranteed by the Ministry of Finance. Image via the Ministry of Finance.
The Ethiopian Ministry of Finance (MOF) is bundling together the debts of six of its largest state-owned enterprises and will transfer the liability for these debts from the firms to the MOF itself. ...
by Eric Olander

China Begins to Distribute More Vaccines Beyond MENA to Sub-Saharan African Countries

China shipped 1.9 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to African countries last week, with total deliveries across the continent now at 53.9 million, according to the latest Vaccine Tracker Report ...
by Eric Olander

WeChat Currency Scams Are Widespread Within the Chinese Expat Population in Africa

Last week we told you about how Chinese expatriates in Ghana were getting scammed by fraudsters posing as currency exchange dealers on WeChat. Now, victims of similar schemes from the Chinese ...
by Eric Olander

Ethiopia Seeks to Follow China’s Example By Creating Its Own Social Media Apps as Alternatives to Facebook and Twitter

Shumete Gizaw, director general of the Information Network Security Agency, is advocating for Ethiopia's new social media platforms to replace U.S. apps including Facebook, Twitter and Zoom.
China’s nationalist model of cyber sovereignty received another endorsement in Africa on Monday when Ethiopian officials unveiled new ambitions to “replace” U.S.-made social media and communications apps with local ...
by Eric Olander

Nigeria-Based, Chinese-Backed Mobile Money Platform OPay Raises $400 Million From Softbank-Led Round

The Nigeria-based, Chinese-owned mobile payment platform OPay closed its latest funding round with $400 million of new investment in a deal that values the company at an impressive $2 billion. This ...
by Eric Olander

Sino-Congolese Mining Venture Sicomines Launches Conveniently Timed Social Development Program

The Sino-Congolese mining company Sicomines held a signing ceremony on Saturday for one of its largest community development initiatives in the joint venture’s 14-year history. The company will spend almost $12 ...
by Eric Olander

Congolese Governor Orders Suspension of Six Chinese Mining Companies in South Kivu Over Environmental Violations

Théo Ngwabidje Kasi, governor of South Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Théo Ngwabidje Kasi (photo), governor of South Kivu province in the Eastern DR Congo, ordered six  Chinese-owned mining companies to suspend operations in a bid to “restore order” after weeks of mounting tensions between the companies ...
by Eric Olander

Yet Another Social Media Video Revealing Tensions Between Chinese and Congolese Miners

In what’s becoming an increasingly frequent pattern, another video appeared online on Sunday showing a heated exchange between a Chinese and Congolese miner. The video that is now circulating widely on ...
by Eric Olander

Terrorists in Pakistan Again Target Chinese Nationals in What’s Become an Unprecedented Challenge For the Belt and Road

Residents perform a funeral prayer for a victim of a suicide attack that targeted Chinese nationals in the port city of Gwadar on August 20, 2021. AFP
Residents of the Pakistani port city of Gwadar gathered this weekend to mourn the death of two children killed on Friday by a suicide bomber who once again targeted Chinese ...
by Eric Olander
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