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

Africa’s First Non-Chinese Lithium Operation Gearing Up in Ghana

The Ewoyaa mine is Ghana's first lithium mine. Image via Atlantic Lithium.
Ghana is becoming a test case in the United States’ drive to find critical mineral supplies that sideline Chinese mining and refining operations. Australia’s Atlantic Lithium is building the Ewoyaa mine in Ghana. Half ...
by Cobus van Staden

Kenyan-Chinese Smartphone Assembly Plant Debuts

President William Ruto inaugurated Kenya's first smartphone assembly plant in Athi River Town southeast of Nairobi on October 30, 2023. Images via @Williamsruto.
Kenyan President William Ruto launched the country’s first smartphone assembly plant earlier this week. Located in a town outside of Nairobi, the East Africa Device Assembly Kenya plant is a joint venture between Kenyan ...
by Cobus van Staden

China Steps Up Middle East Diplomacy in Multi-Front Push

Chinese Middle East Envoy Zhai Jun (L) with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi. Image: Jordanian Foreign Ministry
China’s Special Envoy to the Middle East, Zhai Jun, met with Jordan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi on Monday to discuss the conflict in Gaza. This is the newest in a ...
by Cobus van Staden

Philippines Denies Chinese Air and Sea Deployments Pushed It From Disputed Shoal

File image of the Philippine warship BRP Conrado Yap that was blocked by PLA naval and air forces from entering waters near the disputed Scarborough Shoal on October 30, 2023. Image via the Philippine Armed Forces.
The Philippines and China are trading conflicting accusations following yet another encounter in the South China Sea. On Monday, a Philippine Navy ship sailed near the disputed Scarborough Shoal, prompting China to dispatch ...
by Han Zhen

Philippines Fights ‘Pro-Beijing Narratives’ as South China Sea Spats Swell

Commodore Jay Tarriela, Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, talks to the press on August 7, 2023 in response to recent incidents in the South China Sea between the Chinese Coast Guard and the Philippine vessels. Ezra Acayan / POOL / AFP
A Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson criticized domestic communities he said are pushing false narratives about the country’s territorial conflict with China.  Commodore Jay Tarriela pointed out what he called three misleading claims that ...
by Han Zhen

China’s Maritime Dispute With the Philippines is Primarily a Problem With the U.S., Says Professor

HEADLINE TRANSLATION: Wu Shicun: The United States is the biggest driver of the increased [tension] in the South China Sea
The surge in maritime tensions between the Philippines and China that began in February is largely due to the United States instigating its ally in Manila, according to Wu Shicun, director of the ...
by Eric Olander

China Dismisses U.S. Trade Rep’s Moves to Build Alternate Critical Mineral Supply Chains

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said talks with the UK government to bolster critical mineral supply chains are making progress. Mandel NGAN / AFP
The Communist Party of China (CPC) said any efforts by the U.S. and its partners to reduce their dependence on Chinese critical resources used to manufacture electric vehicle batteries is “futile and ...
by Eric Olander

China Is Playing the Long Game in the Middle East: Analysts

China's ambassador to the United Nations, Zhang Jun, speaking with his Palestinian and Russian counterparts on the sidelines of a Security Council meeting about the ongoing war in the Mideast. Bryan R. Smith / AFP
China was one of 121 countries that voted for a UN General Assembly resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian truce in Gaza on Friday. The vote positioned it against Israel and its key ally, ...
by Cobus van Staden

Marooned Filipino Ship Becomes Center of South China Sea Flashpoint

File image of the the grounded Philippine navy ship BRP Sierra Madre where marines are stationed to assert Manila's territorial claims at Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands in the disputed South China Sea. Ted ALJIBE / AFP
The deterioration of an aging Filipino ship grounded in the South China Sea is becoming the center of an already concerning global flashpoint between China, the Philippines, and the U.S. No one knows just ...
by Han Zhen

Multilateral Support for the Philippines Could Alter Course of Conflict With Beijing in South China Sea

The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Frederick Hatch steams away from a pier in Tacloban, Philippines, Monday, Oct. 23, 2023. Image via the U.S. Coast Guard.
If conflict were to break out in the South China Sea, the Philippines faces a much larger and more sophisticated military in China, which now has the world’s biggest naval fleet. That has ...
by Han Zhen

Philippines Drops Railway Funding Request from China Amid South China Sea Disputes

Philippines Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said Manila look for other partners to finance a $5 billion railway project after China apparently backed out. Image via Inquirer.net
The Philippines is dropping its request for Chinese loans to fund three railway projects totaling more than $5 billion. The decision comes as recent tensions between the two countries in the South China ...
by Han Zhen

Philippines Says Factions Within Its Country Echoing ‘Pro-Beijing’ Narratives

Image via @globaltimesnews
The Philippines has long been critical of what it deems China’s misinformation campaigns around increasingly contentious issues such as South China Sea disputes. But now Manila says there is a “small but vocal ...
by Han Zhen

Chinese Scholar Reveals Misgivings in Beijing About Pakistan Trade Corridor

Liu Zongyi is a senior fellow and secretary general of the South Asia and China Center, Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (SIIS).
Pakistan and China frequently refer to themselves as “iron brothers” and the relationship is an important building block in China’s bulwarks against the U.S. and India. Central to this relationship is the China-Pakistan ...
by Cobus van Staden

Zimbabwe Newest Recipient of China’s Building Diplomacy

Zimbcbwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Tang Wenhong vice Chairman of the China International Development Cooperation Agency shake hands at the handover ceremony of the new parliament building in Harare on October 27, 2023. Image via @ChineseZimbabwe.
China on Thursday formally handed over Zimbabwe’s new $100 million parliament building. The six-floor, 33,000-square-meter complex was fully funded by the Chinese government and framed as “a gift to the people of Zimbabwe.” ...
by Cobus van Staden

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

The G20 Summit and the Half-Life of a Joke

When it was announced in 2023 that the African Union would become a full member of the G20, I darkly joked on a podcast that the AU’s entry into the body could very well mark the moment the G20 lost its status as one of the most important global coordination forums. Mark my words, I said, soon The Economist will be like “Uhhh, the G20 is OVER – it’s the ...

Q&A: Chinese, and Nigerian Researchers Collaborate on Super Sub-Saharan Africa Electricity System

Humphrey Adun. He is in a team of Chinese and Nigerian researchers modeling a massive new cross-border electricity generation and transmission system connecting 12 Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) countries.

China's strategic investments through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) showcase its aspiration to play a role in the global energy infrastructure.

by Njenga Hakeenah

Saudi Arabia Offers to Mediate Between China and the U.S.

Saudi Arabia’s Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan said the Kingdom hopes to assist the U.S. and China to improve their relationship. Fayez Nureldine / AFP
Saudi Arabia is willing to help improve the relationship between the superpowers. Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan said during a panel discussion at the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh: “If there are opportunities that we ...
by Cobus van Staden

Biden Says Pact With Philippines “Ironclad” While Asserting China Aggression in South China Sea

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a joint press conference with Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, D.C., on October 25, 2023. SAUL LOEB / AFP
U.S. President Joe Biden called China’s action towards the Philipines in the South China Sea  “dangerous” and “unlawful” and said any attack would result in U.S. involvement. “The United States defense commitment to ...
by Han Zhen

Philippines Eyes Multilateral Approach Against China in South China Sea

Philippine fishing boats in the foreground with a Chinese Coast Guard passing by in disputed waters of the South China Sea. Ted ALJIBE / AFP
The Philippines will increase multilateral activities, including freedom of navigation transits in the South China Sea and hopes more partners will “join our fight” after multiple recent run-ins with Chinese maritime forces. China’s recent ...
by Han Zhen

Views From Manila on China-Philippines Confrontations in South China Sea

Philippine fishing boat "Moises" sailing past a Chinese Coast Guard ship after the former was blocked from sailing near the Scarborough Shoal in disputed waters of the South China Sea. Ted ALJIBE / AFP
The recent confrontations between Chinese and Filipino vessels in the South China Sea are prompting significant commentary in the Philippines media, where it appears that public opinion toward China is hardening. Commentators have ...
by Han Zhen

South China Sea Conference Wraps Up in Vietnam With High-Level Speakers From China and Other Countries

A guest speaks at the 15th Annual South China Sea International Conference in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
The two-day 15th Annual South China Sea International Conference concluded Thursday in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, hosting speakers from dozens of countries, including China. The event took place on the heels of multiple ...
by Han Zhen

EU’s Global Gateway Moves Forward on DRC-Angola Corridor in Bid to Counter China

Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP
The European Union and the United States will launch the early stages of a logistics corridor linking the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia to an export facility in Angola. This was one ...
by Cobus van Staden

Chinese Company Exports Illegal Timber Worth Millions from DRC Despite Ban: Report

The sprayed word "Illegal" is seen on tree trunks as Greenpeace activists demonstrate against the illegal importation of timber coming from Brazil and Congo. XAVIER LEOTY XAVIER LEOTY / AFP
Congo King Baisheng Forestry Development, a Chinese-owned timber company, exported $5 million worth of illegally logged timber in the first six months of 2023 alone, according to a new report by Global Witness. ...
by Cobus van Staden

Philippines Digs in Heels in South China Sea While Also Cautioning Restraint

A U.S. Navy helicopter ferries supplies aboard the USS Ronald Reagan, a forward-deployed aircraft carrier now operating in close proximity to Chinese naval forces in the South China Sea. Image via US7th Fleet.
The Philippines appears to be employing a strategy of resolve and restraint in the South China Sea amid some of the most dangerous confrontations with China in recent memory. Manila said it will ...
by Han Zhen

EU’s Global Gateway Forum Aims to Take On China’s Belt and Road

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen signed a partnership at the Global Gateway Forum in Brussels to develop green hydrogen exports. Image via @vonderleyen.
Wednesday and Thursday will see leaders from twenty countries gathering in Brussels for the Global Gateway Forum, the newest step in the EU’s global infrastructure scheme. The forum comes a week after China’s ...
by Cobus van Staden

IMF Warns China’s Slowdown Could Hit Africa, Debunks Debt Trap Myth

Protesters at the IMF and World Bank meetings in Morocco earlier this month. Image: Fadel Senna / AFP
The International Monetary Fund released a set of reports on Africa’s economic outlook and China’s shifting role on the continent. Overall, African economies are slowly rebounding after the double shocks of the pandemic and ...
by Cobus van Staden

Kenya’s President Didn’t Go to China to Get New Loans, Says Finance Minister

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with President William Ruto at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China on October 18, 2023. Image via Xinhua.
Senior Kenyan officials are trying to set the record straight about President William Ruto’s trip to China last week and whether he went there with a billion-dollar request for new loans. Before he ...
by Eric Olander

South Africa’s Rand Merchant Bank and China Construction Bank Boost Ties for Trade, Financing

South Africa’s Rand Merchant Bank and China Construction Bank have extended a partnership for another five years to foster trade relations between China and Africa. The two will focus over the next five ...
by Han Zhen

China Protests Illegal Fishing Accusations

Image: AFP
China is furiously protesting claims that its distant water fishing fleets are involved in rampant illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in waters as far away as South America. This follows a report ...
by Cobus van Staden

Thai Land Bridge Project (Possibly) Gets Chinese Interest

A map of the proposed land bridge project, promoted by Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin during the Belt and Road Forum last week
Thai officials say the Chinese construction giant China Harbor Engineering Company (CHEC) expressed interest in a project touted by the Thai government that would build double deep-sea ports in Chumphong and Ranong, linked by ...
by Cobus van Staden

Africa-China Meetings Give Glimpse of Next Year’s FOCAC Agenda

African delegates at the China-Africa Senior Officials Meeting in Beijing. Image: Moses Odhiambo / The Star
Officials from 53 African countries and the African Union Commission are meeting in Beijing this week to discuss the implementation of goals agreed at the 2021 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit in ...
by Cobus van Staden
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