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

DRC President Inaugurates New Chinese-Built Hydropower Plant

DR Congo President Félix Tshisekedi commissioned the new 240 megawatt Busanga power station that is part of the Sicomines resources-for-infrastructure deal. Video via @PatrickMuyaya
Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi opened the floodgates of the new Busanga hydropower station on the Lualaba River in southern Lualaba province’s copper/cobalt belt. There’s a certain irony in Tshisekdi inaugurating this particular project given ...
by Eric Olander

Lots of People Are Confused About Indonesia’s Decision to Ban E-Commerce on TikTok. Here’s Why They Did It.

Online entrepreneurs like Monomolly, and her employees used to sell beauty products on TikTok but were forced to move to other platforms when the government banned use of the Chinese social media app to sell goods. BAY ISMOYO / AFP
The Indonesian government last week outlawed the use of TikTok to sell goods online goods, delivering a massive blow to the Chinese social media giant in its fastest-growing market in Southeast Asia. Since ...
by Antonia Timmerman

Southeast Asian Vacation Spots Wait for Chinese Tourists Who Seem More Content to Stay Home

Many of Southeast Asia's top destinations like this beach in Danang, Vietnam are normally bustling with Chinese tourists but have been slow to return after the pandemic. Nhac NGUYEN / AFP
The number of Chinese tourists that went abroad during last week’s normally bustling holiday break was significantly below pre-pandemic levels and even fell short of official forecasts, raising more concerns about the country’s ...
by Han Zhen

WEEK IN REVIEW: DRC President Félix Tshisekedi Officially Inaugurated a New Chinese-Built Dry Port

Zambian President Haikinde Hichilema together with his counterpart from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Félix Tshisekedi, lay the foundation stone for a new transport corridor to Tanzania. Image via the DRC Presidency.
Félix Tshisekedi, the president of the DRC, officially inaugurated a new Chinese-built dry port. The Sakania dry port is on the border with Zambia and will double as a border post and a nerve ...
by Eric Olander

India Plans Air Defense Buildup in Confronting China

Indian Air Force head Air Chief Marshall Vivek Ram Chaudhari speaking during the annual Air Force Day news briefing in New Delhi. Image: Sajjad Hussain / AFP
India is planning to spend up to $36 billion in the next seven years to improve its air defenses as part of ongoing hostilities with China and Pakistan, according to the head of its ...
by Cobus van Staden

China’s Space Plans Play Into India-Pakistan Tensions on Earth

Long March-2F rocket, carrying the Shenzhou-16 Manned Space Flight Mission, lifts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in China's northwestern Gansu province, on May 30, 2023, heading to the Tiangong space station. Hector RETAMAL / AFP
If China’s upcoming mission to the moon succeeds, it will become the first country to collect samples from the dark side of the moon. China’s National Space Administration said planning for the Chang’e-6 mission is ...
by Cobus van Staden

Afghanistan Pursues Chinese Investment

File image of the Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi. Image Wakil Kohsar / AFP
Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi is using his presence at the China-led Trans-Himalaya Forum for International Cooperation in Tibet to meet bilaterally with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. In the newest indication ...
by Cobus van Staden

Backgrounder: The Fine Print of China’s No-Coal Pledge

The Hwange coal-fired power plant in Zimbabwe, where a Chinese-built expansion was unveilved in August. Image: Zingyange Auntony / AFP
In 2021, China’s President Xi Jinping announced that China would stop funding and building coal-fired power plants overseas. After the announcement, Chinese companies canceled about forty coal power projects. However, a similar number are still ...
by Cobus van Staden

Indian Police Arrest Two Journalists, Detain Dozens of Others With Alleged Ties to China

New Delhi police detained Urmilesh (one name only), a well-known journalist with ties to the website NewsClick that has been critical of the government and allegedly received money from a pro-CPC group in China.
Indian security forces fanned out across New Delhi early Tuesday morning to conduct coordinated raids of the homes and offices of journalists affiliated with the left-leaning news outlet NewsClick on suspicion they accepted ...
by Inter-American Dialogue

Xi Congratulates New Maldives President, Promises Closer Ties

Maldives' President-elect of the Maldives' Mohamed Muizzu delivers a speech during a gathering with supporters following the country's presidential election on October 2, 2023. Mohamed Afrah / AFP
Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulated Mohamed Muizzu on Tuesday on his election as president of the small Indian Ocean archipelago state and pledged to forge closer ties. Meanwhile, Muizzu isn’t wasting any time in ...
by Eric Olander

China Hosts Himalayan Foreign Ministers Forum in Tibet, India Noticeably Absent

Foreign Minister Wang Yi welcomed his counterparts from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Mongolia for a two-day conference in China focused on Himalayan diplomacy. The 3rd Trans-Himalaya Forum for International Cooperation opened on Wednesday ...
by Eric Olander

Chinese National Among the Dead After Mass Shooting in Bangkok Mall

An ambulance is seen outside Siam Paragon shopping centre in Bangkok on October 3, 2023, following a shooting incident in the mall. Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said there had been a shooting on Oct 3 at the shopping mall in downtown Bangkok, with hundreds of people seen fleeing the scene. Jack TAYLOR / AFP
A 14-year-old boy suffering from a psychiatric episode walked into Bangkok’s upscale Siam Paragon Mall and randomly started shooting, killing two and wounding five others. Among the dead included a female Chinese tourist. ...
by Eric Olander

Illegal Chinese Migration to the U.S. Surges via Mexico

2023 data through August. Data includes both encounters by Border Patrol and U.S. Customs and Border Protection at and between Chart via The San Diego Union-Tribune.
The number of Chinese nationals illegally crossing into the United States from Mexico is surging, according to new data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Last year, the total number of undocumented Chinese ...
by Eric Olander

Ongoing Tensions at Shoal Amid U.S.-Philippines Naval Exercises

A Chinese coastguard vessel patrolling the Scarborough Shoal is glimpsed during a surveillance flight by Philippine forces in late September. Image: Ted Aljibe / AFP
The Philippine press is reporting that the Chinese coastguard is using rubber boats to control access to the contested Scarborough Shoal to Philippine fishing boats. Henrelito Empoc, a spokesperson for a fishing group, said, “The ...
by Cobus van Staden

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

Plugging into African Agency

After several years of declining funding, the African end of the Belt and Road Initiative seems to be roaring back. The newest Griffith University/Green Development Finance Center data on the Belt and Road Initiative shows that engagement with Africa jumped by 395%, while a few big projects boosted engagement in Nigeria alone more than twelvefold.
These shifts indicate a window of opportunity for African electrification. 60% of Africans still ...

Getting China Out of Mineral Supply Chains Will Take Closer Cooperation With Africa: Report

The United States is increasingly focused on lessening its dependence on China for critical minerals. While some key rare earth minerals are mined in China, its involvement is much broader in mineral refining ...
by Cobus van Staden

While Confucius Institutes Are Being Kicked Out of the Global North, They Remain Popular in the Global South

Chinese Shaolin monks meeting with young Indonesian martial arts students at a Confucius Institute event in Indonesia in September. Image: Adek Berry / AFP
In September, the Federal University of Bahia opened its new Confucius Institute, the fourteenth in Brazil. These language-learning centers, usually tie-ins with local universities, are being closed in droves across the Global North under ...
by Cobus van Staden

Marcos: Philippines Not Looking For Trouble With China, Vows to Defend Against Incursions

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. said he would protect against Chinese incursions into his exclusive economic zone. Earvin Perias / POOL / AFP
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. issued a conciliatory yet firm message to China that his country does not want to provoke a confrontation over disputed territories in the South China Sea, but he will ...
by Eric Olander

Growing Concern in Asia That China-Philippines Stand-Off Could Escalate Into Full-Scale International Conflict

Chinese coast guard ship blocking a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources' ship while its personnel aboard a rigid hull inflatable boat sailing past the Philippine ship as it neared the Chinese-controlled Scarborough Shoal in the disputed South China Sea on September 22, 2023. Ted ALJIBE / AFP
The steadily escalating confrontation between China and the Philippines over disputed maritime territories in the South China Sea is prompting new anxieties in Asia that the feud could trigger a much larger conflict ...
by Eric Olander

Pro-China Opposition Leader to be Next President of Maldives

File image of Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) head Mohamed Muizzu who won a presidential run-off election on Saturday to become the Indian Ocean island state's next president. Mohamed Afrah / AFP
Maldives opposition leader Mohamed Muizzu easily won a second-round vote against incumbent Ibrahim Solih to become president-elect of the small Indian Ocean island state. Muizzu, who is widely seen as favorable to increased engagement ...
by Eric Olander

Reality Now Dawning Western Countries Probably Can’t Catch-Up With China in the Critical Minerals Race

Percentage share of global production. Note: Report published in July 2022. Source: International Energy Agency
There’s been a noticeable shift in recent weeks in the European and North American discourse about China’s dominance of critical resources used to manufacture electric vehicle batteries. Officials on both sides of the ...
by Eric Olander

China’s Huawei Sets up Commodities Hedging Team in Singapore, Hong Kong

DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS / AFP
Huawei Technologies (HWT.UL) is building a commodities team to hedge and trade metals and energy products, according to the Chinese technology company’s job posts on professional social network LinkedIn. The company was looking ...
by Eric Olander

Saudi Arabia, China to Hold Joint Naval Exercises This Month

Fayez NURELDINE / AFP
The Chinese and Saudia Arabian navies will conduct a second round of joint naval exercises later this month off the coast of Guangdong in southern China. “This joint training focuses on overseas maritime ...
by Eric Olander

Lots of Smiles and Lots of Handshakes, But What Else Did Syria’s President Get During His Recent Visit to China?

Syrian President Bahsar al-Assad returned to China for the first in almost twenty years last month in a bid to secure President Xi Jinping's support for reconstruction aid. Image via Xinhua.
President Bashar al-Assad’s visit to China in late September is widely seen as an important step in Syria’s re-integration into the international community after years of Western-led international isolation. Assad received a much ...
by Eric Olander

WEEK IN REVIEW: Foreign Minister Wang Yi Said China Willing To “Play a Constructive Role” at Upcoming APEC Summit in November

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrives in Türkiye on Wednesday for talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. ELMOND JIYANE / GCIS / AFP
Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China is willing to “play a constructive role” at the upcoming APEC summit in November but wouldn’t confirm if President Xi Jinping will attend. Xi stayed home from both ...
by Eric Olander

$1.3 Billion Chinese Investment in Zambian Copper Sector as EU Readies Competing Deal

Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema meeting the management of Chinese mining giant China Non-Ferrous Metals Mining Company (CNMC) on 27 September 2023 in Lusaka. Image via @HHichilema
The Chinese mining giant China Non-Ferrous Metals Mining Company (CNMC) announced a plan to invest $1.3 billion in Zambia across a range of sectors. The agreement, announced by CNMC chairperson Xi Zhengping, includes a ...
by Cobus van Staden

Climate Graph of the Day: After a Rapid Increase, China’s Oil Demand May Have Peaked

After decades of ever-growing oil use, China’s oil demand may have peaked this year, according to Chinese oil executives cited by FT. This has significant implications for countries from Angola to Russia ...
by Cobus van Staden

A Debt Deal for Sri Lanka Without China?

Arun SANKAR / AFP
Some members of Sri Lanka’s creditor committee are reportedly promoting an agreement to restructure the bankrupt country’s debt without China. According to a report by Bloomberg, the United States, Japan and India ...
by Cobus van Staden

Revealed: The Issues Complicating a Key Belt and Road Project in Pakistan

A train line is only one of numerous infrastructure projects forming the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) a prominent Belt and Road project. Image: Arif Ali / AFP
China is apparently balking at proposals from Pakistan to expand cooperation in their shared China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), revealing growing problems in the key Belt and Road Initiative project. These were revealed by a ...
by Cobus van Staden

China, Philippines Tensions Surge After Manila Removes Barrier in South China Sea

The Philippine Coast Guard says it removed a 300 meter floating barrier installed by Chinese maritime forces in the South China Sea. Image via the Philippine Coast Guard.
Already strained ties between China and the Philippines worsened further on Tuesday following the announcement by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) that it successfully removed a 300-meter barrier that Chinese maritime forces installed ...
by Eric Olander

China’s Top Diplomat to New Delhi Calls for “Friendly Coexistence” With India

Chargé d’Affaires Ma Jia, is China's highest ranking diplomat in New Delhi. China has not been without an ambassador to India for the past 11 months. Image via the Chinese embassy in India.
The Chargé d’Affaires at the Chinese embassy in New Delhi, Ma Jia, Beijing’s most senior diplomat in India, renewed a call for the two Asian powers to “normalize” their relations in a bid ...
by Eric Olander
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