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Chinese diplomats in Africa are really stepping up their efforts to try and persuade everyone that COVID-19 did not originate in China. Last week Ambassador Wu Peng in Kenya used this line and now Lin Songtian in South Africa appears to be doing the same.

Here's what we know: a woman from the eastern city of Mutare who recently returned from China made it to Wilkins hospital in Harare where she checked herself in complaining of symptoms consistent with those of COVID-19.  We don't know her nationality and what the official cause of death was.

Nonetheless, various Zimbabwe media outlets (including some not known for their accuracy) are reporting that the woman was, in fact, Chinese and suggesting a cover-up by the government. 

"The apparent attempts to cover-up circumstances surrounding the woman’s death, and the fact that she is Chinese, will alarm Zimbabweans who have been critical of the government’s reluctance to impose restrictions on travel between China and Zimbabwe in the wake of the fast-spreading epidemic," said a story on ZimLive.

The prevailing sentiment on social media, as well, seems to support that theory. The speculate that the government is reluctant to officially identify the patient as being Chinese so as not to offend Beijing and jeopardize Harare's financial commitments.

THE BOTTOM LINE: This dispute highlights how societies with poor governance struggle to manage information in a crisis. 

SUGGESTED READING:

• Zimbabwe Ministry of Health Statement
• ZimLive: ‘Mutare woman’ who died after coronavirus referral was Chinese, Zimbabwe admits
• ZimLive: Coronavirus: death of woman sparks fears Zimbabwe suppressing information

With a majority of China's ports and factories still offline due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, African businesses are starting to run very low on supplies of products sourced in China, prompting discussions about where they will be able to find new, reliable yet equally affordable suppliers.

REALITY CHECK: They won't find any.

There simply isn't any other country in the world that produces as much as cheaply as the Chinese do. And since African consumers tend to lack disposable income, they can't turn to more expensive alternatives from other parts of the world.

For example, some have suggested Vietnam could provide an alternative to Chinese goods. While that may sound plausible, the numbers tell a different story.

• China has a manufacturing workforce of around 800 million, compared with Vietnam’s 55 million.
• In 2017, China’s share of global manufacturing output was around 28.2%, Vietnam's was 0.27%.
• Vietnam’s power generating capacity is around 41 million kilowatts, compared to China’s 1.65 billion kilowatts.

It's a similar situation in other manufacturing hubs elsewhere in Southeast Asia, South Asia, and the Americas. No one comes to close to China's scale and that means Africans will likely have no other choice than to grit their teeth through this latest trade crisis and resume buying from China when the COVID-19 crisis eventually passes.

Read more on why Vietnam will not replace China anytime soon on the South China Morning Post website.

China-Africa trade has essentially come to a halt due to the worsening COVID-19 outbreak around the world, adding new pressure on small business owners across Africa who make a living selling imported Chinese goods. Now with inventories running low, shopowners are wondering how they're going to replenish stock, with everything from toys to tech items stuck back in China where fewer than half the country's factories are up and running again.

The supply constraints are also adversely impacting shoppers who have become accustomed to the easy availability of affordable Chinese consumer goods. With supplies of a huge range of products now running increasingly low, prices are rising fast.

Chinese Imports Are the Latest COVID-19 Casualty in Africa

• NIGERIA: China accounts for almost 25% of the country's total imports, much of which is sold by small shop owners who depend on a complex supply chain that begins in Chinese port cities like Yiwu and Guangzhou. Now, with some of those ports still shut, there isn't any way to make up for the volume and price of goods that are sourced from China. (BUSINESS DAY)

• KENYA: China alone accounts for 21% of Kenyan imports valued at almost $3.66 billion. A sizable portion of those imports is made up of equipment and other industrial products, but a lot of it is also in the form of consumer goods. The government is now so concerned about the situation that it's going to convene a series of meetings this week with private sector leaders about what needs to be done to adjust tariffs and quotas to make it easier to import goods from other countries, including from elsewhere in Africa. (BUSINESS DAILY)

• EGYPT:  The supply chain bottlenecks from China are contributing to weak consumer demand adding to yet another month of reduced private-sector business activity, according to a new report. Chinese imports account for around 15% of the country's total, largely in consumer goods. Egypt is now the third major African economy to report private sector contraction in February. Kenya and South Africa reported similar trends last week. (AHRAM ONLINE)

Although media outlets in Africa's largest countries are reporting on the impact that supply constraints are having on their economies, the situation is likely similar if not worse in smaller countries even though there isn't much news coverage of the topic.

Largely spared of the serious health consequences from the COVID-19 outbreak around the world, the crisis in Africa is now rapidly evolving into an economic and now, increasingly, a political crisis as constituents in a number of African countries express frustration over how their governments have handled the situation.

Kenya, in particular, highlights the escalating governance crisis.  The situation reached a climax last week soon after the China Southern flight from Guangzhou landed at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, sparking widespread fury online that the government seemed more interested in protecting trade and investment ties with China than the health of its own people.

Now, as private sector economic activity slows in Kenya as a result of constricted trade with China prices are starting to rise, business is going down and more peoples' livelihoods are at stake. As the economic situation further deteriorates, people are increasingly going to look to their governments either for help or to blame.

One phenomenon that we're starting to see online are direct appeals to President Uhuru Kenyatta to get his act together and do something. Last week Nicholas Trump Oseko looked straight into the camera and pleaded for action:

"Mr. President, our schools are too crowded, our churches are too crowded, our buses are too crowded, our markets are too crowded. Every place in Kenya is too crowded. Imagine just one person with this virus? What will happen to an entire population of this nation? We challenge you to take quick and immediate action, Mr. President, and tighten all our ports."

Oseko and many of his compatriots who have issued similar appeals are effectively putting their government on notice with an unspoken ultimatum: if this gets out of control as it has in other countries, we will not blame Xi Jinping, Donald Trump or anyone else. We will blame you.

Watch the full video on Nicholas Oseko's Twitter page.

A longer 30-second version of the viral video of two Chinese nationals being verbally accosted by a group of Kenyan men shouting "you're corona!" started to circulate on Twitter yesterday and provoked an unexpected response from Kenyan social media users... kindness and sympathy.

"This is not good. You can’t repay hate with hate! Chinese people deserve some respect." -@AhmedMfalme

"I condemn this with all my energy. This is discrimination and lack of respect to the Chinese. They are humans and they need our love during this tough time. I just feel  like this guys should be arrested." -- @denis_aunga

Watch the longer version of the video on the GhettoRadio 89.5FM website

With China's factories and ports still struggling to get back up to speed, the massive disruptions to the global supply chain are being felt disproportionately among small-to-medium-sized enterprises in countries like Kenya.

Inventories are running so low now in a rapidly growing number of Kenyan businesses that they'll either have to find other suppliers, which won't be easy or go out of business.

The numbers tell the story of what's going on in Kenya:

• Imports from China plunged by half a billion dollars in just the first two months of the year, according to the semi-private Kenya Trade Network Agency.
• Exports to China have fallen by 11.3% since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, according to the Kenyan Ports Authority (KPA).

KPA says every month four container ships from China dock at the Port of Mombasa but those vessels have failed to do so in response to the ongoing health crisis.

Kenyan Business on the Edge

• RUWEIDA HUSSEIN: "We are counting losses since we have nothing to sell yet Mombasa County has hiked business permit charges. This is a blow to us and we might be forced to seek other alternatives to sustain our lives," said Ms. Ruweda who owns a stream of boutique shops in Mombasa.

• SAMUEL KARANJA: "The travel advisories, coupled with lockdown across Chinese cities have greatly affected our business. We are now being forced to look for alternative markets," said the CEO of The Importers and Small Trader's Association.

Read the full story on the Business Daily website.

The South African government confirmed what investors had long suspected: the economy slipped into recession at the end of last year. New GDP data released on Tuesday by Stats SA reveals the economy is officially in recession and growing at the slowest rate since the financial crisis ten years ago.

The situation will likely deteriorate further now that South Africa's largest trading partner, China, is effectively closed for business due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, putting enormous pressure on the country's exporters.

"South Africa’s barely-growing economy needs all the help it can get right now, and there is almost nothing out there that could plausibly give it a boost, at least not in the short term, with headwinds aplenty," said Daily Maverick journalist Ed Stoddard.

COVID-19's Impact on Two of SA's Most Important Sectors

• MINING: A new report warns that South Africa’s mining industry could suffer “significant losses” should COVID-19 not be contained in the short term, which the authors defined as April 2020. (MINING WEEKLY)

• AGRICULTURE: South Africa’s agricultural sector could suffer $2.5 billion export losses as a result of the coronavirus dampening demand from Asian countries, warned the Agricultural Business Chamber. (THE SOUTH AFRICAN)

China's Deputy Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Zhao Baogang, convened a meeting with the parents of students currently stuck in Wuhan at the embassy in Harare on Tuesday. Amid reports of dwindling food supplies and worsening mental health conditions confronting many of the students under quarantine, the parents are understandably worried.

But Zhao said organizing an evacuation now would "complicate the situation" by potentially spreading the virus to other passengers on the flight home and to people back in Zimbabwe. 

Watch the video of Zhao's remarks on Twitter.

The 151 South Africans who have signed up to be evacuated from Wuhan, the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak, are anxiously awaiting details about when the operation will take place. At present, they don't even have basic information, for example when they're expected to be at the airport, said South African Amy Pittaway, a teacher in Wuhan, in an interview with Cape Talk radio.

"They are quite hush-hush about it, understandable because when the Americans landed they were bombarded with press and people who did not want them in the country," said Pittaway.

"We need to make sure we can jump when they say jump - so we need to make sure our bags are packed and our passports are ready, and that they have notice of what car we are driving in to the airport," she added.

Listen to the full interview on the Cape Talk AM576 website or click below:

John Purchase, CEO of the South African agriculture chamber of commerce, Agbiz, spoke with CNBC on Monday about the impact that worsening trade disruptions are having on the local agricultural sector. Purchase said farmers are already starting to experience financial losses, particularly since products like the grapes that South Africa is famous for are unable to make it to China. 

But Purchase added the situation could be worse. "Fortunately we're not in the citrus export season at the moment, which is our biggest fruit export [to China]."

The most pressing challenge, he said, is the availability of so-called "reefer containers" that are used to transport perishable goods. Many of these containers are currently tied up in China's ports.

Watch the full interview with the John Purchase on the CNBC Africa website.

Chinese expatriates in Kenya and other African countries are becoming increasingly stigmatized by local populations fearful of contracting COVID-19. In major cities, ethnic Chinese people of all nationalities say they're confining themselves to their homes to avoid increasingly common confrontations.

So far, there've been no reports of violence towards Chinese as most of the discrimination takes the form of whispers and people actively avoiding physical proximity to someone who is ethnically Chinese.

Hundreds of Chinese workers on various Kenyan infrastructure projects face similar challenges after numerous erroneous reports that employees from Sinohydro and Chinese companies had contracted COVID-19. 

In eastern Tana River County this week, Chinese engineers and workers at a power transmission construction project were forced off the site by local residents who were scared that the Chinese were infected with COVID-19. With the Chinese staff now in Nairobi, work on the facility has stopped and local employees are complaining that they're no longer getting paid.

"You're Corona!"

Two purportedly Chinese nationals in an undisclosed African country are taunted by locals saying "You're Corona!" Frustrated, the Chinese try to walk away. The video is now part of a raucous discussion on social media related to anti-Chinese discrimination in Kenya and other African countries.

It's important to note that we don't have any information about this video other than what's available in this particular Tweet but it does give a sense of the kind of anti-Chinese harassment that is reportedly becoming more common in some areas.

Watch the video on Twitter.

SUGGESTED READING:

• THE STAR: Coronavirus: How the Chinese face stigma in Kenya by Nancy Agutu
• DAILY NATION: Chinese in Kenya have to contend with horror stares, suspicion by Anita Chepkoech and George Sayagie

A multi-agency task force is designing the plan to safely evacuate 151 South African nationals from the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan. The president announced the evacuation last week but did not specify precisely when it would take place. There's some speculation that it may happen in the next few days.

The actual evacuation will be coordinated by the South African National Defence Force along with the department of international relations, known as DIRCO. Trauma and counseling services will also be provided to the evacuees.

Once they have been repatriated, all evacuees will be required to undergo a 21-day quarantine at a secure facility.

South Africa's Evacuation Logistics:

• AIRCRAFT: The South African Air Force has confirmed that it does not have a suitable long-haul aircraft to make the journey from China to South Africa. Health Minister Zwelini Mkhize said instead that a jet will be chartered to make the journey.

• QUARANTINE: The quarantine location is still unknown but there's widespread speculation that it will at the former military base at Thaba Nchu in Free State. The perimeter of the quarantine facility will be guarded by the military and it will be declared a no-entry and no-flight zone.

Future updates on this operation will likely be sparse given that the defense communications office said it will not brief the media on the progress of the evacuation.

SUGGESTED READING:

• DEFENCEWEB: SANDF part of China COVID-19 evacuation plan
• SOWETANLIVE: Not all SA citizens in China will return
• SABC NEWS: 151 South Africans to be evacuated from China

Face masks, hand sanitizers and other protective gear against infection from the deadly COVID-19 are becoming harder to find in many African cities as speculators hoard supplies and sell them overseas. Meantime, when they are available, prices have reportedly surged so high in some pharmacies putting them out of reach of many average consumers.

• NIGERIA: According to the coordinator of Pharmalliance Network Nigeria, Adeshina Opanubi,  the cost of face masks in the open market has skyrocketed to N200,000 up from N30,000 and N60,000 before the coronavirus incident in the country. (PUNCH)

• KENYA: Tens of thousands of masks have reportedly gone missing and are believed to have been sold to China even though the government outlawed the export of masks, according to an investigation by the Daily Nation newspaper. (DAILY NATION)

SUGGESTED READING:

• QUARTZ: Chinese middlemen are stockpiling facemasks from Kenya and Tanzania for export to China by Alexandria Williams

The near-halt in aviation and shipping links between China and Africa is causing severe disruptions in the supply chain that stocks the inventories of countless businesses across the continent. Merchants of all sizes and in all sectors are now scrambling to find other suppliers to replace the Chinese but they're finding that's not easy... even if possible at all.

• KENYA: Data from the Kenya Trade Network Agency(KenTrade) shows a 38.7% drop in the value of imports from China in January. Manufactures, retailers and logistic institutions have warned that if the situation in China persists, local traders are likely to run out of stock and close as only a few can manage to outsource goods from other “costly” markets. (THE STAR)

• NIGERIA: From consumer goods to technology to home interior decorations, Nigerian merchants are increasingly running out of inventory from China and are becoming increasingly worried that they will have to shut their doors. (CHANNEL NEWS ASIA)

• RWANDA: Even if Chinese suppliers resume production again, Rwandan buyers fear that costs will remain prohibitively high. "We are beginning to experience scarcity in the market, but the situation is likely to worsen in the coming months,” said Michel Sebera, the Permanent Secretary in Rwanda’s Ministry of Trade and Commerce. (THE EAST AFRICAN)

West African oil exports to China are expected to fall dramatically next month, by as much as 10 million barrels, according to oil traders interviewed by Bloomberg. If this happens (and it is speculation at this point) it would reduce West Africa's monthly volume to China to levels not seen since January 2012.

The radical downturn is due to the sudden drop in Chinese manufacturing due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis that crippled industrial output for the past several weeks. Even though the government is now trying to get the factories going again, it will take time so the country's demand for oil is expected to remain flat or decline for the foreseeable future.

That said, some traders expect the situation to deteriorate further amid reports that Chinese banks have frozen credit lines to a number of independent refineries, known in the industry as "teapots," in the northern province of Shandong. 

Political cartoonists in Kenya are channeling the public's anger over the government's request to passengers arriving on the China Southern flight from Guangzhou to "self-quarantine" themselves for 14-days.

Cartoons like this circulated all weekend on Facebook and Twitter amid growing public outrage over the government's handling of the Novel Coronavirus crisis.

See the cartoon in context on the Kenyan entrepreneur Syombua A. Kibue's Twitter page.

Kenya Airways, which runs the ground staff at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on behalf of the Kenya Airports Authority, announced on Sunday that it is suspending one of its employees, Gire Ali, who shot and posted a phone video of last Wednesday's arrival of the China Southern flight from Guangzhou. 

That video later went viral and sparked widespread outrage online about the apparent lack of security protocols to screen passengers coming from China, which is currently grappling with the deadly COVID-19 outbreak.

Kenya Airways said the employee "breached airside security procedures" by recording the video. An investigation is now underway. Read the full Kenya Airways statement, which the company posted on its Twitter page.

But Ali is not taking the suspension lightly. He convened a press conference yesterday in Nairobi with his lawyer and said he plans to take the company to court, claiming the suspension is illegal.

Updates on China-Kenya Direct Flights

• HIGH COURT VERDICT: Kenya's highest court intervened on Friday to impose a temporary moratorium on all direct flights to China in response to a lawsuit filed by the Law Society of Kenya. (THE STANDARD)

• COURT ORDERS PASSENGERS TO BE TRACKED DOWN:  Following its ruling to halt direct flights from China, the High Court then order all 239 passengers aboard the China Southern flight to be located and confined to a Kenya Defense Force facility. (DAILY NATION)

• ALL FLIGHTS CANCELLED "UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE:" Afterinsisting earlier that flights between China and Kenya should continue, the embassy in Nairobi seemingly reversed course on Friday when it published a statement that future flights would be halted indefinitely: "Due to the decreasing volume of passenger flow, China Southern Airlines has made necessary adjustments by suspending flights connecting Guangzhou, Changsha, and Nairobi until further notice." (@CHINESEEMBKENYA)

Over the past week, three excellent podcasts have been published that focus on China, Africa, and China-Africa related issues that are definitely worth listening to and even subscribing for future episodes.

PODCAST #1: China’s Increasing Engagement with Africa: A Conversation with Joshua Eisenman | The China Power Podcast hosted by Bonnie Glaser from the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.

This episode explores China’s key interests and investments in Africa, as well as how China-Africa relations are likely to evolve in the future. Our guest, Dr. Joshua Eisenman from the University of Notre Dame, breaks down the political and economic toolkit China is using to achieve its core interests in Africa. Dr. Eisenman offers his insights on the impact of US engagement on China-Africa ties, as well as analyzes the feasibility of African countries following China’s development model.

PODCAST #2: US Policy Toward Africa | Howard French on the CGD Podcast

This episode of the Center for Global Development Podcast features a discussion between Visiting Fellow W. Gyude Moore and acclaimed journalist and author Howard W. French about the current of U.S. foreign policy in Africa. Although there's not much discussion specifically about China, it looms as a background theme throughout the show. It's also noteworthy that both Moore and French are two of the leading thinkers on U.S-China-Africa issues in the United States today so their views on foreign policy and international relations more broadly are definitely worthwhile listening.

PODCAST #3: Africa Expert Judd Devermont on the Continent's Security Challenges and Cooperation Opportunities | Intelligence Matters with Michael Morrel Former Acting Director of the CIA

In this episode of Intelligence Matters, host Michael Morell speaks with Judd Devermont, director of the Africa Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a former senior analyst in the intelligence community. Devermont discusses areas of instability on the continent and the areas where the U.S. has an opportunity to pursue national interests. Devermont also reviews Chinese and Russian investments and operations on the continent and explains why they each have significant long-term implications for U.S. security.

A video of University of Nairobi lecturer Dr. Richard Bosire sounding exasperated over being locked out of classrooms in UoN Towers. He thought this was because the Chinese government-run Confucius Institute had purchased two floors of the building. 

"Where do they want us to go? Do they want us to learn under trees? Is it Chinese colonialism? They have gone too far," said Dr. Bosire in the video that quickly went viral.

The fact that he used the word "colonialism" is significant and it echoed the anxieties that a lot of commentators on the video have about various Kenya-China controversies -- everything from the restaurant whipping scandal to the SGR allegations to the China Southern plane arriving yesterday at the airport in Nairobi. 

People are understandably anxious.

Read about the incident on the Kenyans.co.ke website.

Bad news keeps piling up for the multi-billion dollar Chinese-financed and constructed Standard Gauge Railway network, the centerpiece of President Uhuru Kenyatta's ambitious infrastructure development agenda.

Ridership and cargo freight volumes are both coming in much lower than expected on several of the lines while investigative journalists reveal excessive spending on Chinese staff during the SGR construction phase.

The SGR's Bad News Week

• LOW RIDERSHIP: The 100km Nairobi-Suswa line carried an average of just 139 passengers a day in November and December of last year, according to new data. The low passenger numbers are raising doubts over the economic viability of this $1.5 billion railway venture that was financed through Chinese loans. (BUSINESS DAILY)

• LIVING LARGE: An investigation by Daily Nation revealed excessive spending on amenities and benefits for Chinese expatriate staff who worked on the first phase of the SGR from Nairobi to Mombasa. In view of the massive loans taken out by the Kenyan government to pay for the SGR, the allegation that Chinese managers were given generous benefits packages has prompted widespread outrage. (DAILY NATION)

China's critics in the United States picked up the excessive spending story on Wednesday to highlight the pitfalls facing African countries engaging with Chine to build expensive infrastructure projects:

• BREITBART: "Kenyans have long complained that the massive Standard Gauge Railroad (SGR) project financed by loans from China’s Belt and Road infrastructure project was an expensive indulgence that created few good jobs for local people because Chinese managers and engineers were brought in to handle the work."  (READ MORE)

• VOICE OF AMERICA: "As the government boasts about the country's most expensive infrastructure project since independence, the $3.2 billion cost has moved front and center.  Many Kenyans think the country got a raw deal compared to its neighbors, Ethiopia and Tanzania." (READ MORE)

While the number of SGR critics is large and growing, especially now, the railway does have it boosters who pushed back against the assertions that the Kenyan government paid too much for the railway.

In an opinion column in yesterday's Daily Nation newspaper, political affairs commentator Sammy Kwinga said comparisons to Ethiopia and Tanzania's SGR development costs are inappropriate.

"The bulk of the land along the SGR route [in Kenya] is private and had to be purchased," he explained. "However, the bulk of land in Ethiopia and Tanzania is State-owned, owing to their communist historical heritage," he added.

Just days after Safaricom acting CEO Michael Joseph brushed off U.S. concerns about using Huawei equipment on its new 5G network in Kenya, the Chinese telecom giant also received good press in Nigeria for the company's corporate social responsibility initiatives.

Images of Huawei Nigeria's Managing Director Eric Zhang Lulu with Interior Minister Rauf Aregbesola highlight the company's effectiveness in fostering relations with government and industry stakeholders.

Read the full story on the Daily Trust website.

One week after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrapped up his three-nation African tour, a number of reviews considering the direction of Washington's current foreign policy in Africa are just coming in. There's an emerging consensus among a growing number of policy and media observers that competition with China now serves as the foundation for the Trump administration's engagement strategy on the continent.

• THE FINANCIAL TIMES: The FT published a scathing editorial on Monday that blasted the Trump administration's Africa policy saying that "it can do better than China bashing." The editorial concluded with a warning that unless the U.S. changes its approach in Africa, and fast, its influence will continue to wane. (READ MORE/PAY WALL)

• THE DIPLOMAT: Even though Pompeo didn't talk much about the Chinese on his trip, he really didn't have to, wrote George Washington University doctoral candidate Eleanor Albert. "Pompeo’s remarks [about China] frame the U.S. view of China’s foreign policy and economic engagement squarely in a competitive lens, one that echoes an adversarial tone that is reminiscent of the Cold War era." (READ MORE)

One of Washington's leading Africa analysts, Judd Devermont at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, published a short Q&A that reflected on U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's recent three-nation African tour that wrapped up last week.

Devermont's key takeaway is that the trip should broadly be regarded as a success if only because it did not create new controversies on top of the recent travel ban, s***hole countries comment, Nambia and so on.

Judd Devermont: What Does Pompeo’s Trip Say About the Administration’s Approach to China in Africa?

• A MORE NUANCED APPROACH?: "The secretary’s remarks [about the Chinese] reflect a recent nuance in the Trump administration’s statements about Chinese engagement in Africa—though it is too soon to say if it is a permanent shift."

• THE NAME THAT SHALL NOT BE UTTERED: "Instead of slamming Beijing directly, U.S. officials have started to use a shorthand for China and Chinese activities, such as “opaque business practices of foreign competitors,” when talking to an African audience or with African counterparts."

• A MORE CIRCUMSPECT POMPEO: "While some of Pompeo’s statements about Beijing’s engagement were outdated and inaccurate, he was more circumspect about China than in his previous statements and those made by other administration officials when in front of non-African audiences."

Read the full Q&A on Secretary Pompeo's recent trip to Africa by Judd Devermont on the CSIS website

Africa's largest bank, South Africa-based Standard Bank, made a $50,000 donation to the COVID-19 relief effort in China. Sim Tshabalala, CEO of Standard Bank South Africa made the donation on Monday during a ceremony with Chinese Ambassador Lin Songtian.

It's worth noting the effusive language that both Ambassador Lin and the Chinese official media used to describe the donation in their Twitter posts. This kind of rhetoric is typically reserved for political leaders and governments, not private companies. 

It is safe to assume that, when the COVID-19 situation is resolved, Standard Bank's friends in Beijing will likely not forget the public support that it provided in the midst of the crisis. It's surprising, actually, that more corporations are not following Standard Bank's example and lining up for photo ops like this, given the potential to forge relationships.

Share prices on Africa's leading index, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, plummeted on Monday amid surging investor fear over the economic damage caused by the escalating COVID-19 crisis. 

The JSE shed 4.5% in trading yesterday, making it one of the worst days for the exchange in twenty years.

Investors are particularly concerned about South Africa's broad-based exposure to the Chinese economy given that it's the country's largest trading partner, particularly for raw materials like copper and platinum. The prices for these commodities are down sharply on reduced Chinese demand.

Amid the carnage, though, there's one bright spot for South Africa. Investors are fleeing stocks and buying huge amounts of gold. The price of gold increased again on Monday, up 2% to $1,674 an ounce, and that's good news for South African gold mining companies like Harmony, which gained 14% in Monday trading.

SUGGESTED READING:

• Fin24: Markets plummet as coronavirus fears escalate by Musa Makoni
• Business Insider SA: The JSE just had one of its worst trading days in 20 years 

Further Knock-on Effects of the COVID-19 Crisis for Africa:

• ALUMINUM: The price of aluminum on the London Metals Exchange is now hovering close to a three-year low due to a sudden drop in demand from Chinese industrial manufacturers. This is going to have a painful impact on Africa's bauxite producing countries like Guinea, Ghana, and Mozambique. (REUTERS)

• TOURISM: Emirates Airlines' decision to suspend its direct flights from Shanghai and Guangzhou is now being felt in Zimbabwe's tourism sector, as thousands of Chinese customers who had booked safaris are now forced to cancel. "We are not getting any bookings of late and as long as this virus is still taking its toll on people from our busiest Asian market, we don’t expect much in terms of business," said Joe Travel and Tours General Manager Leo Manyembere in Harare. (THE HERALD)

China's top legislative body, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), announced a sweeping ban on the trade and consumption of wild animals as part of the effort to stem the deadly COVID-19 outbreak that has crippled the country.

The new restrictions, now in force, also include a crackdown on illegal wildlife trade, according to a statement released by the NPC. This could have an immediate positive impact in Africa, particularly related to the trade of endangered species like pangolins, whose populations have been devastated by continuous Chinese demand.

While news of the ban was enthusiastically welcomed by conservation groups, it's likely to face considerable opposition at home where the wildlife animal trade is a multi-billion business that employs thousands of people.

Experts also warn that just banning the trade and consumption of wildlife is not enough. It will all depend on whether these restrictions are actually enforced. There's good reason to be skeptical. After the SARS outbreak in 2002, the government imposed restrictions on animal markets but over time eased up on enforcement and the situation eventually reverted back to intensive trade.  

International Conservation Groups Welcome China's Wildlife Trade Ban With Cautious Optimism

• WILDCRIME: "China's announcement of a ban on trade in wildlife sounds great, except that the most pernicious elements of it are already illegal. What's lacking is effective enforcement against wildlife trafficking in China and beyond."

• TRAFFIC: "TRAFFIC commends China’s firm and targeted measures aimed to reduce disease transmission risks arising from trade in wild animals. We hope that strong enforcement of laws to regulate imports and the marketplace will also help address critical conservation threats to wildlife species suffering illegal and unsustainable trade."

The message from China's leading state-run news agency Xinhua was clear -- the stakes are too high with this outbreak and violators of the new ban will be held accountable: 

"Those who, in violation of the law on the protection of wildlife and other relevant laws and regulations, hunt, trade, transport or eat wild animals shall be given heavier penalties on the basis of existing laws and regulations, according to the decision."

The Global Times newspaper also pointed out that the ban does not include wildlife products, which is significant because a lot of African wildlife products like rhino horns and pangolin scales are used to make traditional Chinese medicines. 

SUGGESTED READING:

• The South China Morning Post: China bans trade, eating of wild animals in battle against coronavirus by Echo Xie
• The Daily Maverick: China’s ban on wildlife consumption is an overdue death knell for lion bone industry by Don Pinnock

eSwatini, formerly known as Swaziland, is not a country that often registers as an important player in major global disputes but from the looks of it that may change in 2020. The Kingdom is now the last country in Africa that formally recognizes Taiwan and that has the ire of both the Chinese government in Beijing and its embassy in South Africa that now appears to be increasing its efforts to isolate the small, landlocked country.

Shen Shiwei is a Beijing-based editor at CGTN who mysteriously published this Tweet without an accompanying link or other references. Similarly, influential U.S. think tank analyst Joshua Mesearvy also recently commented on the situation in eSwatini and accused the Chinese government of "bullying" the Kingdom.

Shen Shiwei comments regularly on China-Africa issues and can be followed on Twitter at: @shen_shiwei.