The News Feed is curated by CGSP’s editors in Asia and Africa.
Han Zhen
Eric Olander
CGSP Staff
Eric Olander
Han Zhen
Eric Olander
Eric Olander
CGSP Staff
China slammed "hegemonism and power politics" on Friday as it touted an upcoming summit it is hosting for more than 20 world leaders as promoting stability and peace.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit will be held in the northern city of Tianjin from August 31 to September 1, days before a huge military parade in the nearby capital Beijing to mark 80 years since the end of World War II.
China has long sought to present the SCO as a counterweight to Western-led power blocs and has pushed for greater collaboration between its 10 members.
More than 20 foreign leaders including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend the regional security bloc's largest meeting since it was founded, China's Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Bin said Friday.
Top politicians from member states or guest countries such as Belarus, Iran, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Turkey and Vietnam are also among those taking part.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will deliver keynote speeches at the event -- also attended by heads of international organisations such as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Through the summit, China hopes "to stimulate momentum for cooperation...(and) with the stability and resilience of the SCO, respond to the uncertain and unpredictable factors in the international environment", Liu told reporters at a briefing.
"In today's world, outdated mindsets of hegemonism and power politics still have influence, with certain countries attempting to prioritise their own interests above others, seriously threatening world peace and stability," he added in a veiled reference to the United States.
"The more complex and turbulent the international situation becomes, the more countries need to strengthen solidarity and cooperation to promote common development."
Xi said in July that the SCO "has successfully explored a path of regional cooperation that aligns with the trends of the times and meets the needs of all parties, setting a model for a new type of international relations."
CGSP Staff
CGSP Staff
CGSP Staff
CGSP Staff
CGSP Staff
Japan hosted African leaders on Wednesday for a three-day development conference, offering itself as an alternative to China as the continent reels from a debt crisis exacerbated by Western aid cuts, conflict and climate change.
Attendees at the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) included Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa, William Ruto of Kenya and UN head Antonio Guterres.
"The debt and liquidity crisis on the African continent is worsening the challenging socio-economic environment and constraining the fiscal space for governments to cast a safety net over its citizens," Ramaphosa's office said in a statement.
China has invested heavily in Africa over the past decade, with its companies there signing deals worth hundreds of billions of dollars to finance shipping ports, railways, roads and other projects under Beijing's Belt and Road global infrastructure initiative.
But new lending is drying up, and developing countries are now grappling with a "tidal wave" of debt to both Beijing and international private creditors, the Lowy Institute, an Australian think tank, said in May.
African countries have also seen Western aid slashed, in particular through President Donald Trump's dismantling of the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
TICAD was expected to touch on possible future free-trade deals between Japan and African nations, loan guarantees and investment incentives for Japanese firms, local media reported.
However, Japan's biggest business lobby, Keidanren, warned that Tokyo must work to win the trust of developing nations.
"By actively contributing to solving the social issues faced by countries in the Global South, Japan must be chosen as a trustworthy partner," Keidanren said in a policy recommendation in June.
Africa presents opportunities with its young population and natural resources, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told reporters on Tuesday.
"We will be discussing how we may leverage these human and material resources as a source of vitality and connect them to Japan's growth and the prosperity of the world," he said.
"Rather than focusing on our own needs, we want to carefully identify the needs of our partners and earn their trust, thereby fulfilling our role as a nation," Ishiba said.
Ishiba was set to propose at the conference -- the ninth since 1993 -- an "economic zone" encompassing the Indian Ocean region and Africa, Kyodo News reported.
Japan will pledge to cultivate 30,000 artificial intelligence experts over the next three years to promote industrial digitalisation and job creation, Kyodo said.
Eric Olander
Han Zhen
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