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Chinese automakers have set their sights on the Africa market and are moving fast to grab market share from legacy players in the combustion engine side of the business and to snag the first-mover advantage on the EV side as well.

Chinese automakers have been present in Africa for a number of years, particularly in more mature markets like South Africa. But 2021 is different, as the scale of engagement is ramping up big time.

Brands like Haval, BYD, Chery, and Great Wall Motors may be unfamiliar to most consumers in advanced economies, but they're becoming increasingly well known across the continent. In Zimbabwe, BYD has rolled out EVs with its new cobalt-free Blade battery; in Nigeria, Geely's Cool Ray SUV is selling well, as is Haval's H6 SUV in South Africa, where it's now among the top five best sellers.

And Chinese automakers clearly see an opportunity to bring their expertise in electric mobility to Africa by selling not just cars but also buses, scooters, and tricycles. 

Latest China-Africa Automotive Headlines:

• ZIMBABWE: China's largest SUV manufacturer Great Wall Motors is now selling its P-Series pick-up in Zimbabwe through its local agent Zimoco. These EV trucks have great potential in the country's big game parks where tourists will be able to silently move through the parks compared to the much noisier combustion engine vehicles. (THE INDEPENDENT) 

• SOUTH AFRICA: The state-owned Beijing Automotive Group (BAIC) launched its B40 Jeep-style SUV in the South Africa market. The military-inspired vehicle will be assembled at BAIC's local plant in the Eastern Cape. (NORTH COAST COURRIER)

A fascinating political struggle is playing out in Liberia over a controversial 25-year iron ore deal with Chinese company BAO Chico. Last week, the Senate ratified the deal in what critics contend was effectively a rubber stamp decision after only minimal discussion and no expert testimony.

This prompted one of the country's leading newspapers, the Liberian Observer, to publish a pair of stinging editorials aimed at both the Senate and President George Weah for not publishing the terms of the contract with BAO Chico as is required under law. The paper also claimed that civil society organizations had been silenced out of fear of retribution from President Weah.

When the measure then went from the Senate to the House, representatives shut it down on legal grounds, claiming the Senate did not have the power to ratify the agreement as that is the constitutional domain of the House.

Lawmakers also took issue with President Weah's decision to try and get the Senate to ratify the bill before presenting it to the House, where he probably anticipated it would encounter more resistance. “It is about time that we also officially communicate to the Executive Branch of Government to submit these revenue bills directly and exclusively to the House of Representatives, and not the Liberian Senate," said Representative Acarous Gray.

Even though they halted discussion of the bill, House leaders emphasized that they don't object to the agreement itself but rather to how the Senate and the President have managed the process. But Liberian Observer reporter Leroy Sonpon feels that the newspaper's reporting cemented concerns over the bill's opacity. "Interestingly, however, the House’s refusal to concur comes after a series of news reports and editorials by the Daily Observer calling for transparency and full disclosure of the Bao Chico agreement," he wrote.

Why the BAO Chico Controversy in Liberia is Important

• THE ROLE OF DOMESTIC POLITICS: The BAO Chico situation in Liberia, more than anything, reveals the complex role that domestic politics play in Sino-African engagement. Contrary to the widely-held misperception that Chinese companies impose their will on disempowered African stakeholders, the controversy highlights dynamics in many African countries where a variety of actors across the political spectrum exercise considerable agency.

• THE POLITICS OF TRANSPARENCY: The President appears keen to avoid publishing the terms of the deal, the Senate also did not insist on transparency and the House's objection was procedural and made no mention of the fact that the government is refusing to reveal the terms of the deal, as is apparently required under the law. Other than the appeals by the Liberian Observer, the current consensus among political elites in Liberia is to keep the contract secret. So far there's also no indication that they're doing so at the behest of BAO Chico. This is notable, in part, because the Biden administration has made transparency a hallmark of its B3W initiative, repeatedly claiming that Chinese companies insist on opacity in their dealings with developing countries. What this situation reveals, though, is that the lack of transparency in these deals may be more two-way than officials in Washington appreciate.

• SILENCING OF CIVIL SOCIETY ACTORS: Liberia's normally vocal civil society organizations (CSO) that regularly speak out on good governance, transparency, and freedom of information, have all been silent on this controversy. "When pressed further about why they wouldn’t lend their voices to add pressure on the government to make public the [BAO Chico agreement], the leader of one CSO replied, citing fear that, by speaking out, they could be severely punished by President Weah," according to the Liberian Observer newspaper. And just as in Liberia, Kenya's attorney general Kihara Kariuki is also fighting civil society groups to keep the terms of the Standard Gauge Railway contract secret. 

SUGGESTED READING:

• Liberian Observer: House Halts Bao Chico Deal by Leroy Sonpon
• GNN Liberia: House Calls Senate To Order s Senate On Bao Chico Deal by Randall George
• The Honourable House of Representatives Republic of Liberia: official House statement on the rejection of the BAO Chico agreement

The conservative Heritage Foundation's Senior Policy Analyst for Africa and the Middle East, Joshua Meservey, commented on Friday about the U.S. Defense Department report that included the allegation that China is considering at least four countries in Africa to build new military outposts.

Meservey wrote in a six-part thread how the base issue meshes with China's broader geopolitical objectives in Africa. The following is a lightly-edited transcript of Meservey's six-part Twitter thread:

(The) report says China is trying to get access in Africa to all the bodies of water it borders: "As a means of creating numerous options, the PRC is attempting to develop access in multiple African countries on the continent’s Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Red Sea, and Mediterranean coasts."

African countries shield China from human rights criticism, help it weather international criticism over issues like the Tiananmen Square massacre and its cover-up of the COVID-19 pandemic, support its candidates to lead important international agencies, and assist it as it tries to set regulatory and other norms that will privilege Chinese companies.

Read the full thread on Johsua Meservey's Twitter page.

The U.S. government is now considering as many as 50 infrastructure projects for its new B3W initiative, which is aimed at countering China's Belt and Road Initiative. Earlier this week, administration officials hinted at around 20 projects, but apparently, that figure has now increased substantially. U.S. officials recently completed "listening tours" in five Latin American and African countries and will next head to Southeast Asia. Officials added that only countries "with our democratic values front and center" will be qualify. (VOA NEWS)

Zambian President Haikinde Hichilema renewed his assurances to investors that Chinese creditors will not receive preferential treatment in the current debt restructuring process. "We will treat debt stockholders equitably to avoid cross-subsidization,” he told the Financial Times on Tuesday in response to a question about Chinese loan repayments. There have been longstanding concerns that Chinese creditors would unfairly benefit from any "haircuts" imposed on bondholders and multilateral lenders. (FINANCIAL TIMES)

Singles' Day is now becoming a thing in South Africa where online shoppers will enjoy massive discounts just on November 11 (11.11.) Singles' Day is the Alibaba-initiated e-commerce bonanza in China that is now gaining traction in other regions around the world, mostly in SE Asia. Now it's also gaining traction in some African countries. SA retailers like bidorbuy and beauty/fashion sites Superbalist and Clicks are all offering special one-day promotions. Last year, Singles Day sales on just Alibaba's platforms generated an eye-watering $78 billion of sales in just 24 hours. (BIZ COMMUNITY)

DRC Infrastructure Minister Alexis Gisaro Muvunyi cited a lack of planning and poor feasibility studies in his report to President Félix Tshisekedi explaining why more infrastructure has not materialized as part of the massive Sicomines "Deal of the Century." The Paris-based magazine Jeune Afrique is among the first to see a copy of the report, which revealed that only 27.5% of the promised $3 billion of infrastructure has been built. More concerning, according to the report, the Chinese-run joint venture capped infrastructure spending at just $1.053 billion in response to delays in mining extraction. (JEUNE AFRIQUE -- in French)

Sinopharm's Chief Scientist, Zhang Yuntao, said on Tuesday that a new COVID-19 drug will soon begin clinical trials in the United Arab Emirates.  Sinopharm is currently developing two new COVID drugs, one of which is already in use in China. Zhang emphasized that these new drugs, like those from Pfizer and Merck, are not intended to replace vaccines but rather reduce the risk of hospitalization or death. Drugs like these could potentially have a big impact in poor developing countries since they don't need expensive cold chains. (GLOBAL TIMES)

Chinese shoppers will soon see Egyptian pomegranates in their local supermarket now that officials from both countries have cleared the way for the fruit to be imported, according to the Egyptian Agriculture Minister El Sayyed El Quseir. Pomegranates are a major Egyptian export with more than 100,000 shipped annually. This week's announcement is the latest in a string of China-Africa agricultural deals this year including Tanzanian soybeans, Zambian blueberries, and Rwandan chili peppers among numerous others. Greater access to the Chinese market for African agricultural products is expected to be a major theme at the upcoming FOCAC conference in Dakar. (EGYPT'S STATE INFORMATION SERVICE)

The Republic of Congo is getting a financial lifeline from the IMF after the two sides agreed on Monday to a $1.1 billion 3-year loan deal. The arrangement was only possible after Brazzaville renegotiated $2.4 billion of debt with Chinese creditors and an additional billion dollars of outstanding debt with Swiss energy trader Trafigura. In return, the IMF is requiring the government in Brazzaville to implement anti-corruption measures and governance reforms. (RADIO FRANCE INTERNATIONALE -- in French)

Malawi's state-run power company Egenco selected Hangzhou-based new energy company CHINT to build the first 10-megawatt portion of the new Salima solar power plant outside of the capital Lilongwe. The $12 million project will take two years to complete and is being financed entirely by Egenco. When finished, the new plant will be capable of producing up to 50 megawatts of solar power. The plant is part of Malawi's effort to reduce its current dependence on hydropower from 95% of its energy supply to 76% over the next five years. (AFRIK21)

The central Chinese province of Hunan is again stepping up its engagement in Africa with the opening of its first industrial park in Nigeria. Hunan is emerging as one of China's leading African trading hubs with the launch of a Ghanaian cocoa exchange, Rwanda chili import deal, home of the largest African trade expo and now its first real estate play in Africa's largest market. Investors who set up shop in the Hunan Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone in Nigeria will enjoy preferential corporate income tax rates, reduce VAT and tariffs. (HUNAN DAILY -- in Chinese)

The Tanzanian government appears ready to resume negotiations with China Merchant Holdings International (CMHI) and Oman's sovereign wealth fund over the multi-billion development at the Port of Bagamoyo. Talks broke down in 2019 when late President John Magufuli said the original offer by CMHI was "exploitative." But since Samia Suluhu Hassan assumed office, she's made it a priority get the project moving again to build a Special Economic Zone along with major upgrades to the port. (THE CITIZEN)

Chinese global trade volumes surged 32% y-o-y in the first 10 months of the year to $4.89 trillion, according to new customs data. ASEAN remained the country's top regional partner with $711 billion in two-way trade, up 20% from the same time last year. Overall trade with BRI countries amounted to $1.4 trillion (+23%). Specific figures for Africa are not yet available, but it's widely believed that the two sides are on track to surpass last year's $187 billion in bilateral trade. (GLOBAL TIMES)

U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser Daleep Singh wrapped up a trip to West Africa in Senegal on Saturday where he's meeting with high-level stakeholders as part of his ongoing "listening tour" for the Biden administration's Build Back Better World infrastructure initiative. Singh also met with Ghanain VP Mahamudu Bawumiato discuss the country's infrastructure needs. Singh is leading what appears to be a one-man mission to rally support for B3W that is ostensibly aimed at providing an alternative to China's BRI. (U.S. EMBASSY GHANA)

DR Congo's cobalt mining sector is notorious for worker abuse and exploitation. Until now, most of the focus has been on the informal, or artisanal mines where there is no government or corporate oversight, and the presence of child laborers has been well-documented over the years.

But the country's industrial mining sector, which accounts for 80% of the DRC's cobalt output, has received considerably less scrutiny. This is precisely why a new report from the London-based NGO Rights and Accountability in Development (RAID) is sparking a lot of discussion this week about human rights violations in the EV battery supply chain.

RAID's report focused on five of the largest foreign cobalt mining companies operating in the DRC, three of which are Chinese:

1. China Molybdenum’s Tenke Fungurume Mining (TFM)
2. China Nonferrous Metal Mining Company (CNMC)’s Société minière de Deziwa (Somidez) 
3. Sino-Congolaise des Mines (Sicomines), a joint venture between the Congolese state-owned mining company Gécamines and a consortium of Chinese companies and investors.

While Chinese mining companies in the DRC often tout their corporate social responsibility programs and labor practices, those benefits for full-time workers only apply to a minority of their overall labor force. Workers hired on a more casual basis as sub-contractors often face a far more abusive, even violent, reality according to RAID's findings.

Of the more than 26,000 workers in the Congolese mining sector, RAID researchers determined that 57% are hired as sub-contractors. That figure is even higher at some foreign-owned mines like China Moly's massive TFM facility in Lualaba Province, where two-thirds of the labor force is reportedly working for sub-contractors rather than for the mining companies.

This has led to widespread exploitation, said the NGO, degrading treatment by Chinese and other foreign managers, and dangerous working conditions that largely go unchecked. Local authorities in the mining hub of Kolwezi, for example, only have two inspectors to monitor the entire industry, according to RAID.

Key Findings From RAID's Report on Working Conditions in DRC's Cobalt Mining Sector:

• FORCED OVERTIME: "The systematic use of subcontractors by mining companies has also pushed workers to work significantly in excess of the Congolese legal limit of 45-hour weeks, usually without receiving overtime pay. Several workers also reported being required to work long periods without leave."

• HEALTH & SAFETY: "At some mines and their subcontractors, the provision and quality of personal protective equipment (PPE) is also a serious concern for workers. Interviewees told us that they were not given PPE or if they were, it was poor quality. At Sicomines, workers described seeing overloaded trucks and workers without boots and other PPE. At a TFM subcontractor, Dieudonné said “the PPE are not adequate. If my boots are with holes and I asked for new ones, they tell you to go home and stop complaining. We have to keep our work clothes for 6 months no matter what, even if it’s damaged.”

• RACISM & DISCRIMINATION: "Racism and tensions between Chinese expatriates and Congolese workers take several forms, workers explained to us, including palpable humiliation and other degrading treatment. Almost every worker we interviewed, employed at Sicomines, Somidez, TFM, or Metalkol’s Chinese-owned subcontractors, reported either experiencing or witnessing racism and discrimination, often expressed through physical violence and verbal abuse directed at Congolese workers."

SUGGESTED READING:

• RAID: The Road to Ruin -- Electric vehicles and workers' rights abuses at DR Congo's industrial cobalt mines
• African Business: Workers report “colonial-era” abuse at Congolese cobalt mines by David Thomas
• The Guardian: ‘Like slave and master’: DRC miners toil for 30p an hour to fuel electric cars by Pete Pattisson

When South African online shoppers get their groceries delivered from the retail giant Woolworths, they'll come in one of the company's new Chinese-made electric-powered delivery vans.

Woolworths announced that it will use the Shanghai-based auto major SAIC's Maxus e Deliver 3 van to build its fleet for e-commerce deliveries.

Chinese auto brands like SAIC, BYD, and Chery are rapidly expanding their presence in Africa's consumer and commercial markets, and they clearly see an opportunity to pioneer electrified mobility on the continent.

Read more on the story on the CleanTechnica website.

As the 8th Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) conference in Dakar nears, expectations in some quarters are rising that China will once again play the role of financier for African development and COVID-19 mitigation.

At the previous two FOCAC summits, China pledged as much as $60 billion, but officials have been very circumspect this time around and have said little about how much will be committed at this year's event that will take place at the end of the month. And there's good reason to believe that the final tally will not be anywhere near as high as previous FOCACs based on the dramatic plunge in lending by China's official policy banks in recent years.

Nonetheless, South African Broadcasting Corporation columnist Abbey Makoe seems optimistic that Beijing is going to make it rain this time just as they've done previously:

"Beijing is expected to bring a big checkbook to FOCAC 2021, and aid to the continent’s agriculture projects and the digital and tech assistance could dominate the offerings. Also highly likely to be China’s offer of assistance could be a huge number of vaccines Beijing signs off to Africa in an effort to mitigate the impact of COVID-19. Over the years, FOCAC has been hailed as a win-win summit between China and Africa."

Read the full column on the SABC News website.

The brief respite from U.S.-Chinese sniping at the United Nations over the deteriorating situation in Ethiopia came to an abrupt end this week. The two countries had momentarily put aside their differences on Friday when they signed a joint statement calling for the warring factions in Ethiopia to cease hostilities and enter talks. 

But by late Monday, Ambassador Zhang Jun made it clear that their approach to the unfolding crisis remains diametrically opposed from one another. "Using trade restrictions or cutting off aid as a means to exert maximum pressure on Ethiopia will only interfere with a political settlement, and not help the parties resolve their conflicts and rebuild mutual trust," Zhang told the Security Council in reference to the U.S. Trade Representative's announcement last week to terminate Ethiopia's duty-free trade privileges unless "urgent action" is taken within 60 days.

Russia echoed China's position and criticized U.S. sanctions against Ethiopia saying unilateral measures "will only make [the situation] worse." Both China and Russia contend that the conflict is an internal Ethiopian matter and therefore not subject to sanctions by the UN.

Instead, Ambassador Zhang called for greater multilateral engagement led by the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the African Union's High Representative for the Horn of Africa, Olusegun Obasanjo. 

The Chinese UN envoy's position is consistent with Beijing's longstanding objection to any kind of unilateral sanction, particularly by the United States, given that China itself is the target of such measures. China instead prefers multilateral options where it can often exert more influence over the process and even veto initiatives that violate its foreign policy orthodoxies (non-interference, the sanctity of sovereignty, unilateralism, and so on.)

SUGGESTED READING:

• CGTN: Chinese envoy calls for time, space for goods offices to play out in Ethiopia
• Borkena: Russia says unilateral sanctions on Ethiopia counter-productive

Over the past week, there's been a noticeable increase in the frequency of media coverage on both online news sites and state-run channels in China about the burgeoning conflict in Ethiopia. It does not appear that these news outlets have many, if any, resources on the ground to cover the story, so a lot of the reporting features input from think tank analysts and highlights from international news agencies like Reuters, BBC and Tass among others.

What's interesting though is how the coverage, even on non-official news sites like the immensely popular Observer (观察者), seamlessly conforms to and reinforces Beijing's official positions on the conflict. They also give voice to many of China's longstanding grievances towards the United States.

Key Themes in Chinese Media Coverage of the Conflict in Ethiopia:

• UNITED STATES INTERVENTION: As with many international conflicts, Chinese media coverage of what's happening in Ethiopia tends to focus disproportionately on the role of the United States. This may be due to intense negative public sentiment in China towards the U.S. By portraying Washington as an aggressive, interventionist force in conflicts like this, it conveys a reassuring message to Chinese readers that effectively says see, it's not just us Chinese who are getting picked on by the U.S., they're even doing it in places like Ethiopia.

• "FAKE NEWS" & WESTERN MEDIA: While stories like the one published on Observer rely heavily on Western news sources for most of the information in its report, they also make sure to emphasize the theme that Western media (specifically CNN, the BBC and Reuters) is intentionally disseminating "fake news." Specifically, in this case, the suggestion that Tigrayan rebels are closing in on the capital Addis Ababa challenges China's public position in support of the government. This reflects another longstanding grievance in China: deep animosity and suspicions towards the international media. Suggesting that "Western media" is sowing lies in Ethiopia only validates the suspicions that many Chinese have about international media coverage of their own country.

Read the full story on the Observers website (in Chinese)

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin was asked to comment on Tuesday about the news that the U.S. plans to launch its Build Back Better World global infrastructure program in January. The B3W is ostensibly intended to rival China's Belt and Road Initiative.

Not surprisingly, Wang doesn't appear to be a fan of the U.S. effort: "We believe that there is wide room for global infrastructure cooperation and various initiatives don't have to counter or replace each other. Countries should work to build rather than tear down bridges, promote connectivity rather than decoupling, seek mutual benefits and win-win results rather than isolation and exclusiveness."

Wang's comments at the press briefing likely also prompted an equally dismissive story in the nationalist tabloid Global Times that stated unequivocally that B3W is "financially unfeasible, bound to fail."

The article went on to dismiss the U.S. effort to challenge the Belt and Road as little more than "political propaganda."

SUGGESTED READING:

• Global Times: US’ B3W infrastructure projects financially unfeasible, bound to fail: experts
• Reuters: U.S. plans January rollout of projects to counter China’s Belt and Road Initiative, official says

The highlight of every FOCAC, at least measured by the quantity of news headlines, is the size of the big financial package that's unveiled at the end of the triennial conference. In 2012 it was $20 billion, then $60 billion in 2015, and $60 billion again in 2018. 

The following is an excerpt from a column that Ryder published on Tuesday in African Business magazine, where she specifically addressed the importance of China's financial commitment at FOCAC:

FOCAC is quite unique among so-called “Africa plus one” summits. It has generated some of the largest ever financial commitments to African countries on the part of a single country.

It is also unique within similar “China plus others” forums – most others have never involved financial commitments, even though other developing countries do aim to get Chinese loans. While there are other lessons and policy areas to borrow from the other forums, it will be perceived by Africans as a significant negative shift from China if this unique commitment were to now be done away with.

Furthermore, and perhaps more importantly, the factors that drove China to commit $60 billion to African countries remain just as persuasive now, if not more so. The Chinese government is aware that African countries aim to become middle-income countries, to eradicate poverty, and industrialize. While China currently imports primarily natural resources from African countries, China does not think this development will compete with its long-term economic interests. 

Read the full column on the African Business website

DR Congo President Félix Tshisekedi joined Ambassador Zhu Jing on Monday for a tour of the construction site of the new cultural center that China is financing and constructing in Kinshasa.

When finished, the new 36,000 square meter center will house a 2,000 seat main theater along with a smaller 800 seat rehearsal hall. It’ll also become the second iconic Chinese-built landmark in the Congolese capital alongside the Stade des Martyrs de la Pentecôte that was constructed in 1993.

Construction of the new arts center began in 2019 and is expected to be completed in September 2023.

Additional photos of the visit are available on the MediaCongo.net website.

Every day leading up to the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation conference on November 29th and 30th, CAP will feature perspectives from journalists, academics, activists and business leaders about what they hope will emerge from the FOCAC event in Dakar.

If you would like to participate and share your perspective, please email a short paragraph to CAP's Africa Editor Cliff Mboya: cliff@chinaafricaproject.com.

• A MORE INCLUSIVE DIALOGUE: "In the FOCAC Action Plan, I would love to see China commit to strengthening inclusive dialogue with civil society and NGOs by developing a civil society coordination mechanism and platform. Further, China needs to commit to strengthening African countries’ own governance mechanisms, management capacity and monitoring of resource extraction and wildlife protection and strengthening regional coordination and information exchange" --Sikula Oniala, China-in-Africa Coordinator at Amnesty International in Kenya (@Sikulandro)

• MORE FOCUS ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: “I hope to see a recalibration of the cooperation plan to one that is strongly hinged on fairness, economic sustainability, shared prosperity, and environmental awareness. African leaders should on the other hand better understand their needs and limitations and negotiate for partnerships that will accelerate the sustainable development of the economy” -- Founder & CEO, Lean Africa Consultants Limited in Kenya (@johnsonkilangi)

• GREATER EMPHASIS ON MANUFACTURING: "Industrialization, technology transfer, and environmental protection are some of the themes that I would like to see addressed by African countries united with a common strategy in front of China. The idea is to obtain a global commitment that will consecrate Africa as the new workshop of the world. But there is very little chance that this will happen because the situations of dependence on China are very varied on the continent" -- Andréa Ngombet, civil society leader and Founder of #Sassoufit collective in France (@andrea_ngombet)

With the security situation in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa becoming increasingly tenuous, supply chains for daily necessities are becoming strained making it difficult for everyone, including the city's Chinese diaspora community, to secure enough food, water and other daily necessities. The Guangzhou-based news channel Southern Metropolis Daily (南方都是报) published a story last week that profiled a Chinese small business owner in Addis, referred only by her last name as Ms. Lin, to get a firsthand perspective on the situation and what life is like for the Chinese community in the Ethiopian capital.

The following is a summary translation of selections from Southern Metropolis Daily's story: "Ethiopia: Entering a state of emergency! Local Chinese claim the price of rice has tripled": (埃塞俄比亚：进入紧急状态！当地中国人称大米价格已翻三倍):

On November 3, when a Southern Metropolis Daily reporter contacted Ms. Lin, who started a business in Addis Ababa, she was on the way to the supermarket to try and buy food.

Ms. Lin explained that as a result of the war, the supply chain for Chinese supermarkets was disrupted and many of the containers that brought in food were delayed so the supermarkets often run out of stock. Now, gas is also in short supply and the price of rice, flour and noodles have all doubled. "My parents went to the supermarket today," she told the reporter, "and there was only one bag of flour left. Fortunately, I stocked 30 bags last week."

The local Chinese supermarket said it's getting dozens of calls every day from local residents who all ask about whether they can buy rice, but with no stock available, it's just not possible. Originally, a bag of 40kg of imported rice cost 2,400 birr ($50) but now speculators have forced up the price more than threefold to 8,500 birr ($179). Apparently, there's extensive hoarding going on over the border in Djibouti and the rice isn't being brought in to Ethiopia due to the situation here.

The other problem is that the war has sparked a rapid depreciation of the local currency, the birr, resulting in rapid inflation, which is also contributing to the higher cost of goods. Ms. Lin said that for the most part, the impact of the increased cost of living and added financial pressure is manageable for most people in the local Chinese community but she's concerned about the future. Since Ethiopia is a landlocked country, she explained, everything needs to be imported and the currency devaluation has led to higher prices and more tariffs. Also, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced a lot of companies to close which has put added pressure on peoples' abilities to meet their basic food and clothing needs. "The situation was good last November, but now it's getting worse," she lamented.

As if all of this was not bad enough, Ms. Lin said the Chinese community is also being victimized by both online scams and increased instances of crime. "Scams in the Chinese community were quite common early on in the crisis," she said, "but now we've become more vigilant." As for robberies and other crimes that have become more pervasive: "locals have become used to it."

Read the full story on the Southern Metropolis Daily WeChat channel (in Chinese).

An unnamed senior U.S. official told reporters on Monday that the Biden administration is planning to announce the launch of its Build Back Better World (B3W) initiative as soon as January and that West Africa will be among the key priorities for what's been described as the U.S. alternative to China's Belt and Road Initiative. 

U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor Daleep Singh (photo) wrapped up another "listening tour" in Ghana and Senegal over the weekend where at least 10 "promising projects" in both countries were identified for possible U.S. investment.

Last month, Singh led another senior-level delegation to visit three Latin American states, and a tour in Asia-Pacific is reportedly planned before the end of the year.

The anonymous U.S. official who spoke with reporters hinted at longstanding (albeit unfounded) suspicions that China engages in "debt trap" diplomacy when he said that the U.S. will not require sizable collateral agreements that could be used to seize a country's strategic assets in the event of a default. The official added that Washington will also not obligate borrowers to sign strict non-disclosure agreements that are standard in Chinese financing contracts.

Among the projects that Singh reportedly discussed during his visit to West Africa included setting up vaccine manufacturing facilities, green energy production, and various digital initiatives.

Two Key Challenges Confronting the U.S. With the B3W in Africa:

• SCALE: There is no doubt that African stakeholders would eagerly welcome new engagement and investment from the U.S. via B3W. But if all the White House is talking about is just a handful of projects spread across three continents, then that is likely not going to present a meaningful challenge to China's BRI given the dominant role that Chinese actors already have in the Global South infrastructure sector, especially in construction. New U.S. efforts would certainly serve as a complement but probably not widely regarded as a legitimate alternative to the BRI.

• TIMING: The U.S. is going to be under tremendous pressure to get shovels in the ground quickly. As soon as Singh and other officials announce next year which projects will be supported by B3W, an hourglass will flip and everyone will be paying close attention if the United States can quickly negotiate the contracts, arrange the financing, conduct the ESG/CSR assessments and get shovels in the ground as quickly or faster than that of a comparable Chinese project. The Biden administration will also have to move quickly to institutionalize B3W within the remaining two years it has in office in the event of a GOP victory in November 2024. It's customary now that incoming U.S. residents undo as many of the accomplishments of his predecessor as possible.

SUGGESTED READING:

• Reuters: U.S. eyes January rollout of first projects to counter China's Belt and Road -official by Andrea Shalal
• Bloomberg: Biden Plans Flagship Projects to Challenge China’s Belt-and-Road by Justin Sink

U.S. officials have not let on which projects they will support as part of the new B3W plan, their latest effort to blunt China's infrastructure dominance in the Global South and the Belt and Road Initiative more broadly, however, it's almost certain that mobile telecommunications will be part of the mix. 

In Africa, the battle is already underway as the U.S.-backed Africell attempts to challenge Huawei and other Chinese telecommunications providers head-on in building network infrastructure and cloud data centers. To be sure, it's not an equal comparison given that Africell, unlike Huawei, has commercial operating licenses in four African countries. 

Also, there's the issue of scale. While former U.S. ambassador and Africell board member J. Peter Pham celebrates the use of "non-China tech" in places like Angola, that's really more the exception than the norm given that Huawei components alone are used by more than 200 African telecom and internet operators across the continent. And it's important to note that Huawei is by no means the only Chinese telecom company active in Africa. State-owned behemoths ZTE, China Telecom, and China Unicom among others also play major roles on the continent.

Nonetheless, armed with the $205 million that it raised over the past three years, half of which came from the U.S. government's Development Finance Corporation and influential board members like Pham who is impressively well connected at statehouses across the continent, Africell is seeking to make inroads as Africa's "non-China-telecom" player (one of the conditions of the DFC loan is that it can't ever use any Chinese-made technology in its network).

Background: Africell vs. Huawei in Africa

• ABOUT AFRICELL: Africell operates in four African markets (it recently exited Uganda) as a retail mobile telecommunications operator and now as a cloud data center provider in Angola. Even though the company receives considerable U.S. financial support, its based in the British island of Jersey and headquartered in London.

• ABOUT HUAWEI: The Shenzhen-based company remains the top telecom supplier in Africa with a presence in every country where it's also built a reported 70% of the continent's 4G market. While Huawei was once dominant in the African handset market, U.S. sanctions forced the company to abandon that sector and now the company is moving into services like mobile money (Huawei Mobile Money powers both M-Pesa and Ethiopia's new Tele-Birr service). 

SUGGESTED READING:

• The Africa Report: US – Africa: Why Washington is driving Africell’s revival by Quentin Velluet
• Radio France Internationale: Africa, China's Huawei tech eldorado by Dominique Desaunay

Building a coalition of "like-minded democracies" to challenge China's Belt and Road Initiative in developing countries was a founding principle of U.S. President Joe Biden's Build Back Better World initiative when he unveiled the plan over the summer at the G7 summit in Cornwall, England. 

But implicit in that statement is that "like-minded democracies," predominantly in Europe and Asia, would rally behind the U.S. in its traditional role as the world's preeminent democracy.

But new polling data released this week by the non-partisan Pew Research Center indicates that the White House should no longer assume that the U.S. retains the admiration of its fellow democratic partners -- in fact, when respondents in the world's wealthiest democracies were asked if they see the U.S. as a "good model of democracy," the results were downright dismal.

This is potentially very problematic for the Biden administration as it ramps up its latest effort in Africa and other developing regions to position itself as an alternative to China's authoritarian model.

The Editorial Board at one of Liberia's largest newspapers, the Daily Observer, is keeping up the pressure on the government by demanding for the second day in a row that it release the details of a 25-year iron ore deal with the Chinese mining company BAO Chico.

The paper expressed dismay that the agreement "sailed through the Senate without even an ounce of scrutiny." Now, the Editorial Board is calling on the House of Representatives to call mining experts to testify in open session and for the terms of the deal to be fully made public.

The board reminded legislators that full disclosure of all government documents including mineral development agreements is required under the law. "This is not an option," the editorial declared.

As to why civil society organizations have not spoken out about the lack of transparency and the deal itself, the paper quoted one NGO leader who said that fear of reprisal from President George Weah, who backs the deal, is to blame.

Why the Daily Observer is Concerned About Liberia's Iron Ore Deal with BAO Chico:

• INFRASTRUCTURE: The paper wants to know how BAO Chico will transport iron ore to the point of shipment. What are the infrastructure implications of this deal?

• CHINA: All three corporate entities that comprise BAO Chico are Chinese state-owned entities. The paper wants to know to what extent is BAO Chico 'representing China's interest in a mineral swap deal announced by Finance Minister Samuel D. Tweah between the Government of Liberia and that country?"

• SECRECY: "Despite filing their FOI request, the consortium of Liberian news media outlets have yet to receive even an acknowledgment of the Freedom of Information (FOI) request, calling on the Government of Liberia to make public the document as well as address key points of concern that affect the communities, the economy and the country at large."

COMMENT: This is another excellent example of how African actors can be as insistent on opacity and secrecy as their Chinese counterparts, when it comes to loan contracts and mining deals. Similarly, Kenya's Attorney General Kihara Kariuki is engaged in a bitter feud with activists to ensure that the multi-billion Standard Gauge Railway contract with China Road and Bridge Corporation is not released. 

SUGGESTED READING:

• Daily Observer: Mineral Development Agreements Need Transparency and Better Scrutiny by Lawmakers by the Editorial Board
• Daily Observer: Don’t Allow Friendship to Turn Into Cat-S**t Oo! by the Editorial Board

In the run-up to the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Conference that will take place in Dakar, Senegal at the end of the month, CAP is soliciting a broad swathe of experts to share their views on what outcomes they would like to see from the event, and how they hope China-Africa relations will evolve in the future.

If you would like to share your views on the issue, please send a short paragraph to CAP Africa Editor Cliff Mboya: cliff@chinaafricaproject.com

• AFRICA-CHINA TIES NEED A NEW DYNAMIC: "The debate on Chinese debt eclipsed an audit of the outcomes and implementation of the goals set out in the last FOCAC summit.  I am looking forward to seeing what China sets as a priority this time. Probably health and vaccine access. However, in the past, China spoke about supporting innovation but Beijing is still lagging in terms of skills transfer to the continent. Can there be new avenues for cooperation beyond the financing of projects with China being the donor and Africa the recipient?" -- Aggrey Mutambo, foreign affairs correspondent at the Daily Nation newspaper in Kenya

• AFRICA SHOULD SPEAK WITH A SINGLE VOICE: “Africa’s top priority in the upcoming FOCAC should be organizing ourselves as a collective with a single voice to strengthen our negotiation prowess and position on critical issues. This is not to ignore the differing needs and stages of development of each country on the continent. But to tailor our needs to the overarching aim of the Agenda 2063 – the Africa we want to achieve. In doing so, each country can bilaterally cooperate with China on their developmental needs, whilst promoting the continental development agenda” -- Pamela Carslake, co-founder and executive director at the Afro Sino Centre for International Relations in Ghana

• LOWER EXPECTATIONS: “There’s a feeling that this year's FOCAC ministerial meeting in Dakar, Senegal will be uneventful. Despite huge expectations from the African continent, it doesn’t look like much will come out from the ministerial conference and Africa had better lower its expectations as it will probably not be business as usual. We should expect less economic incentives from the past and no major announcements apart from the usual rhetoric” -- Cliff Mboya, Africa Editor at The China Global South Project in Kenya

• FREE TRADE: "The [U.S] African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) could potentially provide the inspiration for the development of a regional trade framework to boost Africa's exports to China... an AGOA-inspired BRI-AfCFTA framework could also promote increased exports from Africa to China in specific sectors such as textiles, agriculture, or labor-intensive manufacturing and also [provide] increased access and opportunities for Chinese investors and business in Africa" -- Yike Fu, policy analyst at Development Reimagined

More than 600 representatives from almost every African country, including eight ministers and eight ambassadors, attended the first-ever China-Africa Beidou System Cooperation Forum that took place on Friday in Beijing and also online with stakeholders in Africa. 

The Beidou Navigation Satellite System is China's answer to the U.S.' GPS and the EU's Galileo space-based navigation systems but only that Beidou today is much larger than either of the Western alternatives. The Chinese nav system provides more coverage of 85% of the capitals in 195 countries around the world compared to GPS, according to research done by Nikkei Asia.

Beidou is also a key component of China's Digital Silk Road (DSR) initiative and is now a newly established sub-forum within the FOCAC framework. 

Why is Beidou Important to the Future of China-Africa Relations?

• FURTHER INTEGRATE AFRICA INTO THE DSR: Beidou, like 5G technology, is a crucial part of China's drive to set digital standards in the 21st century and Africa, as the world's largest regional block of countries, would be instrumental to that effort. The objective here is to put Chinese technology at the center of communications, navigation, and messaging for Africa and other regions within the BRI network.

• CHINA TO GAIN FIRST-MOVER ADVANTAGE:  Friday's conference is the latest example where the Chinese are devoting considerable resources and effort to develop Africa-specific engagement initiatives that competitors in the U.S., Europe, and elsewhere simply aren't doing at this level -- which explains, in part, why 600+ African attendees participated in the event.

The Beidou conference is also the latest evidence of the deepening China-Africa engagement on space issues. In recent years, China launched two satellites for Ethiopia and has also worked with Sudan, the Republic of Congo, Nigeria, and Algeria among other African countries on space-based initiatives.

SUGGESTED READING:

• China Daily: China and Africa will strengthen cooperation on Beidou satellite system by Zhao Lei
• South China Morning Post: China boosts its soft power in Africa while launching African space ambitions by Jevans Nyabiage

The South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) together with the Chinese embassy in Pretoria hosted an online forum last week that featured discussions among Chinese diplomats, including Ambassador Chen Xiaodong, and scholars from both China and Africa to discuss the future of ties between the two regions.

The marathon event, coming in at just under four hours, was hosted by SAIIA's lead China-Africa researcher and CAP co-founder Cobus van Staden. The Chinese scholars who spoke at the event all read from prepared texts that largely re-stated long-standing positions (e.g. China-Africa relations should "resist external influence" and "support multilateralism" among others) but the panelists from Africa were far more nuanced and animated in their remarks.

Key Highlights From the SAIIA Webinar on the Future of Africa-China Relations:

FOLASHADÉ SOULÉ, OXFORD UNIVERSITY: "When you ask African actors about how they perceive China in Africa, it depends on whom you ask.  If you ask governmental leaders about Africa-China relations... which are largely organized by government-to-government relations... they are often happy with this relationship.  They do have some complaints and requests for enhancement but many will say that China allows them to have more access to infrastructure finance and also to deliver on their own electoral promises to their constituencies.  So, China has become a strategic partner for these governments and their own political survival.

However, when you ask people, (specifically) non-governmental actors what are their perspectives (about China), it's a bit more nuanced. NGOs can be a bit more critical about the role of China, especially in terms of compliance among some Chinese companies with environmental, labor, fiscal, safety, construction norms, and of course, this is very different from one project to another as there have been many improvements over the years. But still, I think it's very important to reflect on some of these concerns... I think it's important to communicate better and to engage in a more transparent way of engaging with African actors because of this tension that can happen between perception and misperception."

ANZETSE WERE, DEVELOPMENT ECONOMIST: "I think going forward, the reality and the perceptions of Africa-China relations will be a triangle of state-to-state relations, civil society organizations, and private sector engagement. And I think that triangle will increasingly form the reality and the quality of our engagement and it will also inform the perceptions between Africa and China relations."

Watch the full event on the SAIIA YouTube channel.