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

Ghana Announces Debt Deal

File image of Ghanaian Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta. SAUL LOEB / AFP
Ghana announced a deal with its official creditors that would push back loan repayments until 2026. The government also says it will strike a deal with Eurobond investors for a new deal on ...
by Cobus van Staden

Chinese Foreign Minister in Togo and Côte d’Ivoire

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi meeting with his Togolese counterpart Robert Dussey on January 16, 2024 in Lomé. Image via Xinhua.
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi concluded his African tour in Togo and Côte d’Ivoire this week after touching down in Egypt and Tunisia during the trip’s first phase. The official press coverage revealed few ...
by Cobus van Staden

Chinese Nickel Plants Driving Pollution, Land Grabs in Indonesia: Report

A massive Chinese nickel mining and refining complex in the Indonesian region of North Maluku is causing massive environmental and human rights abuses, according to a new report from Climate Rights International.
by Cobus van Staden

China Will Not Tolerate The Philippines Building on Disputed Islands in the South China Sea, Says Spokesperson

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning at the regular press briefing in Beijing on January 15, 2023. Image via the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning made it clear on Tuesday that Beijing will actively oppose any effort by the Philippines to upgrade any of its outposts on disputed islands in the South ...
by Han Zhen

“Strong Indication” Safety Violation Led to Massive Fire at Chinese-Owned Nickel Factory, Says Indonesia

Guntur (pseudonym), 32, a victim of nickel smelter furnace explosion in nickel industrial processing complex Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park, undergoes his severe burn treatment in a local hospital in Morowali, Central Sulawesi on January 5, 2024. Photo by Mas Agung Wilis Yudha Baskoro.
Indonesian authorities suggested that safety violations and negligence may be responsible for a fire at a Chinese-owned nickel smelter last month that killed 21 workers. The massive blaze erupted at a furnace in ...
by Eric Olander

Nearly a Third of All Brazilian Exports Went to China Last Year

Share of Brazilian exports going to China. Source: Comex Stat
Foreign Minister Wang Yi will arrive in Brazil next week at a time when China’s trade with the South American country is booming.  New data reveals that Chinese demand for Brazilian oil, food, and ...
by Eric Olander

Wang Yi Focuses On Middle East During North African Stops

Tunisia's Foreign Minister Nabil Ammar (R) meets China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi on January 15, 2024 in Tunis, during the latter's three days official visit to Tunisia. FETHI BELAID / AFP
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi touched down in Tunisia, the second stop on his annual African tour. Tensions in the Middle East dominated the first part of the trip, with Wang calling for a ...
by Eric Olander

Ethiopia Restates Support for One-China Policy Amid Somaliland Spat

Meles Alem, spokesperson for Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reaffirmed the nation’s commitment to the one-China policy. Image via the Ethiopian News Agency.
The Ethiopian Foreign Ministry issued a statement reaffirming its support for the One China Policy. This follows China expressing support for Somalia after Ethiopia’s deal with Somaliland to lease 20 kilometers of coastline in exchange ...
by Eric Olander

Beijing’s Two Regional Flashpoints Send Warm Exchanges as Philippines’s Marcos Congratulates Taiwan’s Lai on Presidential Win

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. Frederic J. BROWN / AFP
To those who may not follow the way countries phrase their wording about Taiwan to avoid causing an uproar from Beijing, Monday’s congratulations from Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to Taiwan presidential election winner ...
by Eric Olander

South African Chinese Community Complains About Police Harassment

Image via @Abramjee on X
A video of South African police officers hitting someone filming them and forcibly arresting the person has gone viral on Chinese social media in South Africa. The video went viral after being shared ...
by Eric Olander

Wang Yi Kicks Off Africa Tour in Egypt, Red Sea Security Tops Agenda

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry meets with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi at al-Tahrir Palace in the center of the Egyptian capital Cairo on January 14, 2024. Khaled DESOUKI / AFP
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in Cairo, the first stop in a week-long, four-nation Africa tour. Wang held separate talks with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi along with his counterpart Sameh Shoukry where the ...
by Eric Olander

China Blames U.S., UK Attacks on Yemen for Worsening Red Sea Crisis

China's ambassador to the United Nations spoke out forcefully on Saturday against U.S. and UK-led missile strikes against Yemen in retaliation for Houthi attacks on shipping vessels in the Red Sea. Image via XInhua.
China’s ambassador to the United Nations, Zhang Jun, accused the United States and Britain of inflicting unnecessary casualties and infrastructure damage in their recent strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen. Zhang spoke out ...
by Eric Olander

Ethiopian Coast Deal Reunite China and Somalia

Chinese ambassador Fei Shengchao meeting Somalian President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. Image: X
China expressed support for the government of Somalia amid a controversy about a deal between Ethiopia and Somaliland, which Mogadishu views as a breakaway province. In early January, the governments of Ethiopia and ...
by Cobus van Staden

China Hits Back at Germany’s South China Sea Criticisms

Philippine Coast Guard Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan (R) talks with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (L) during the courtesy visit at the Philippine Coast Guard headquarters in Manila on January 11, 2024. JAM STA ROSA / AFP
China is lashing back at what it sees as Germany’s meddling in Beijing’s regional conflicts in the South China Sea. The German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, visited Manila last week and criticized what ...
by Han Zhen

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

Revealing Reactions to China’s Festival of Optics

In terms of geopolitical optics, this week was nothing short of a banquet. It served up at least two sets of images that seem to crystallize our historical moment and that will live on in the Wikipedia of history as shorthand for where the world was in 2025.
One is the waves of uncannily synchronized soldiers and a bewildering array of high-tech weaponry gliding down Beijing’s Chang’an Avenue. The ...

Indonesian and Vietnamese Leaders Discuss South China Sea

Indonesia's President Joko Widodo (L) and Vietnam's President Vo Van Thuong shake hands during a welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi on January 12, 2024. Nhac NGUYEN / AFP
Indonesian President Joko Widodo met with Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong in Hanoi on Friday as part of Widodo’s tour of the region, which also included visits to the Philippines and Brunei. Maritime ...
by Cobus van Staden

U.S. Promotes Cross-Honduras Rail Project Previously Shopped to China

Honduras' proposed $20 billion cross-continental logistics corridor will likely take about 15 years.
A $20 billion rail project that would connect Honduras’ Pacific and Caribbean coasts is drawing interest from the United States. Scott Hansen, an economic counselor at the U.S. embassy in Tegucigalpa, reportedly presented ...
by Cobus van Staden

France’s Trade Minister Dismisses Chinese Competition in Africa

France's Minister of Foreign Trade, Olivier Becht, says French infrastructure development in Africa is of higher quality and uses more local labor than comparable Chinese projects. Mumen KHATIB / AFP
Olivier Becht, France’s Minister of Foreign Trade pushed back against claims that France is being “chased out” of Africa. In an interview with Africa Report conducted late last year, Becht said the presence of ...
by Cobus van Staden

WEEK IN REVIEW: Chinese Mining Giant CMOC Surpassed Swiss Rival Glencore to Become Largest Cobalt Producer in DRC

Local workers at the massive Chinese-owned Tenke Fungurume copper and cobalt mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Image: Emmet Livingstone / AFP
Chinese mining giant CMOC surpassed its Swiss rival Glencore to become the largest cobalt producer in the DR Congo. The Chinese company boosted production from its Congolese mines in 2023 by 170%. The ...
by Eric Olander

IMF “Optimistic” About Ghana Debt Deal Amid Predictions that Chinese Lending Could Bounce Back

China’s lending to Africa has fallen sharply since 2016. Source: Standard Chartered, Boston University
The International Monetary Fund said it is hopeful that Ghana will reach a debt agreement with bilateral creditors soon, which would unlock another $600 million IMF payment to the country. The IMF’s Resident ...
by Cobus van Staden

China Eyeing Nigeria for Military Aircraft Sale

File image of a Chinese Air Force Y-20 transport aircraft that Beijing is trying to sell to countries in Africa, including Nigeria. WANG ZHAO / AFP
China is reportedly marketing its Y-20 Kunfeng military plane to foreign buyers. In December, Nigerian Defence Minister Mohammed Badaru Abubakar was shown the Y-20BE model during a visit to Beijing, and it also ...
by Cobus van Staden

Philippines, Indonesia Strengthen Ties Against Backdrop of China’s Regional Assertiveness

Indonesia's President Joko Widodo (L) and Philippines' President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. deliver a joint statement at the Malacanang Palace in Manila on January 10, 2024. Ezra Acayan / POOL / AFP
The Philippines is bolstering ties with Indonesia and welcoming the country’s desires to help mediate tensions in the South China Sea, where Chinese and Philippine forces have clashed repeatedly throughout recent months. Indonesian President ...
by Han Zhen

China, U.S. Meet Face-to-Face for First Time in Two Years to Discuss Taiwan and South China Sea

Chinese and U.S. military officials met in Washington this week for their first in-person talks in more than two years. Daniel SLIM / AFP
Chinese and U.S. military officials met in Washington this week for their first in-person talks in more than two years as the world’s two superpowers seek common ground after nearly a year of ...
by Han Zhen

China, Madives Upgrade Relationship

Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu meeting his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. Image via Xinhua.
Mohamed Muizzu, the president of the Maldives, met with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday. The meeting, Xi’s first with a foreign leader this ...
by Cobus van Staden

China’s Maritime Research Has Military Role: Report

China's Yuan Wang 5, a controversial Chinese tracking vessel making a port call at Hambantota port in Sri Lanka on Aug. 16, 2022. The Yomiuri Shimbun via AFP
The government of Sri Lanka announced in early January that it is imposing a one-year ban on Chinese research vessels docking at its ports. Last year, Colombo got into a spat with India about ...
by Cobus van Staden

Outcry Grows as U.S. Reduces Scrutiny of Chinese Entering U.S. From Mexico

Migrants cross the Mexico-U.S. border. Image: AFP
Concerns are growing after U.S. Customs and Border Protection expedited the screening process for Chinese asylum seekers amid a record leap in such cases. The CBP slashed the number of questions it asks inbound Chinese ...
by Han Zhen

China Looms Over Jokowi’s Southeast Asia Trip

File image of Indonesian President Joko Widodo. Image: JOSH EDELSON / AFP
Indonesia’s President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo embarked on a Southeast Asian tour this week, visiting the Philippines, Vietnam, and Brunei. The visit comes as China steps into a more assertive role in Southeast Asia. ...
by Cobus van Staden

Chinese EV Leader BYD to Launch in Indonesia

BYD, the Chinese car company that recently surpassed Tesla to become the world’s largest maker of electric vehicles, will launch its first products in the Indonesian market next week. As Southeast Asia’s largest market, Indonesia ...
by Cobus van Staden

Maldivian President Courts Investors, Controversy During China Trip

Mohamed Muizzu, President of the Maldives, arriving in China. Image: Xinhua
Mohamed Muizzu, the newly elected president of the Maldives, met with business leaders and Party officials in the Southeastern province of Fujian during the first phase of his five-day visit to China. Speaking at ...
by Cobus van Staden

China’s Top Diplomat Sketches Foreign Policy Vision

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaking during a think tank seminar in Beijing. Image: Xinhua
Wang Yi, China’s Foreign Minister and the CCP’s top diplomat, said relations with the United States stabilized last year after facing serious challenges. Wang spoke at a seminar on the past year in diplomacy hosted ...
by Cobus van Staden

Maldives Leader’s Visit to China Points to Changing Politics in the Indian Ocean Region

Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu and First Lady Sajidha Mohamed began a week-long tour of China in the southeastern province of Fujian on September 8, 2023. Image via Xinhua.
The recently-elected president of the tiny Indian Ocean archipelagic state, the Maldives, arrived in China for what will be a closely watched week-long visit. Mohamed Muizzu and his wife, Sajidha Mohamed, landed in the ...
by Eric Olander
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