Live Feed

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

WEEK IN REVIEW: Chinese Imports Fell for Second Consecutive Month in April

FREDERIC BROWN / AFP
Chinese imports fell for a second consecutive month in April, dipping 8% compared to the same time last year in what is potentially a worrisome trend for Global South commodity producers. Chinese exports, however, ...
by Eric Olander

Sudan Crisis is Adding to China’s Debt Woes in Africa

A Sudanese refugee who fled into Ethiopia with her child. Image: Aymeric Vincenot / AFP
As the civil war in Sudan threatens to turn into a regional conflict, it could take a significant chunk of Chinese financing with it. At least $5 billion worth of Chinese loans to Sudan ...
by Cobus van Staden

South Africa Urges Caution on BRICS Currency as Global Yuan Use Creeps Up

Image: Nicolas Asfouri / AFP
The BRICS group (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) will discuss the feasibility of a joint currency at an upcoming summit in Johannesburg in August. Naledi Pandor, South Africa’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, 
by Cobus van Staden

Pakistani Protestors Burn Historical Chinese Fighter Jet Monument

A Pakistani crowd protesting the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan on corruption charges set fire to a monument celebrating China-Pakistan military cooperation. The monument is a reproduction of the Shenyang F-6 ...
by Cobus van Staden

Zimbabwe Pushing Chinese Steel Giant’s Plans to Exclusively Import Electricity From Mozambique

The Mphanda Nkuwa hydroelectric power project in Mozambique. Tsingshang’s Zimbabwe subsidiary, Dinson Iron and Steel Company (Disco) plans on exclusively importing power from the project.
Chinese giant Tsingshang’s Zimbabwe subsidiary, Dinson Iron and Steel Company (Disco), will start importing electricity from Mozambique’s Mphanda Nkuwa hydroelectric power project once complete. This follows a plan, supported by the Zimbabwean government, to have ...
by Njenga Hakeenah

China Observes But Doesn’t Participate in Sri Lanka’s Inaugural Debt Meeting

A vendor holds Sri Lankan bank notes while working at a market in Colombo on March 20, 2023. Cash-strapped Sri Lanka is seeking a 10-year moratorium on its foreign debt repayments. Ishara S. KODIKARA / AFP
Sri Lanka’s major bilateral creditors convened their first meeting on Tuesday, but the country’s largest bilateral lender, China, was in the room but only as an observer. “If China decides to participate, we ...
by Eric Olander

Power Minister Warns That West Pakistan Will Turn to China if IMF Financing Doesn’t Come Through

Pakistan's Federal Minister for Power Khurram Dastgir Khan interviewed by Dawn News host Adil Shahzeb. Image via Dawn News.
Pakistan’s Power Minister Dastgir Khan issued a blunt warning to the U.S. and other Western countries that if they want to keep Islamabad from becoming even more closely aligned with China, they need ...
by Eric Olander

Taiwan, South China Sea and Other China-related Issues Loom Large at ASEAN Leaders Summit in Indonesia

Ten Southeast Asian leaders pose for a family photo during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Labuan Bajo on May 10, 2023. BAY ISMOYO / POOL / AFP
Mounting concerns over Taiwan and maritime territorial disputes in the South China Sea figured prominently on the opening day of a Southeast Asian leaders summit in Indonesia. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. said ...
by Eric Olander

China-Central Asia Summit Confirmed for May 18 and 19

File image of Chinese President Xi Jinping, via AFP
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that President Xi Jinping will chair a summit between China and Central Asian states in the northern city of Xi’an on May 18 and 19. The so-called C+C5 ...
by Cobus van Staden

Connecting the Dots: Hunan Province Expands its Trade Clout Beyond Africa

An outside display at the first Hunan-RCEP Economic and Trade Expo, image via Xinhua
With yearly media blitzes like the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo, China’s Hunan province is increasingly key to agricultural trade with the continent. This trade jumped by 82.9% last year alone, coming to $2 ...
by Cobus van Staden

Chinese FM Qin Gang Wraps Up Week-Long South Asia Diplomatic Push With Pledge to Extend Belt & Road to Afghanistan

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang together with Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar (left) and later with Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari (right) and then jointly with Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi (bottom). Images via Xinhua.
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang wrapped up a two-nation, week-long diplomatic blitz in South Asia that included talks with the foreign ministers from India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.  The most consequential of the three ...
by Eric Olander

China: Africa’s Debt Problems Due to “Dollar Hegemony”

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning referenced "dollar hegemony" for the first time on Friday in the context of Africa's worsening debt crisis. Image via the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs introduced a new talking point aimed at countering accusations by U.S. legislators and other stakeholders that Beijing engages in predatory lending in Africa. For the first ...
by Eric Olander

Rival South China Sea Monitoring Agencies Debate Whether Chinese Vessels Are Targeting ASEAN-Indian Maritime Exercise

The SCS Probing Initiative is a Chinese-backed data monitoring organization that does similar work as the Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation at Stanford University. Image via @GordianKnotRay.
A debate broke out on Twitter on Monday over whether Chinese maritime militia vessels operating in the South China Sea had intentionally changed course in order to shadow the ongoing India-ASEAN joint naval ...
by Eric Olander

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 ...

Botched U.S. Evacuation From Sudan Turns Into Propaganda Victory For China

Chen Xiaodong is China's ambassador to South Africa. Image via @ChinaAmbSA
One of China’s most senior diplomats in Africa, Ambassador Chen Xiaodong in South Africa, took to Twitter to brag that once again, his country seemingly outperformed the United States in evacuating its nationals from a ...
by Eric Olander

Mexican President Says He Has Proof of Fentanyl Smuggling From China

Don EMMERT / AFP
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Friday that he has proof that fentanyl is being smuggled into his country from China, contrary to Beijing’s denials. “We have the evidence. A cargo arrived ...
by Eric Olander

BYD Chairman Discuss Manuacturing, Sales Expansion With Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister

Deputy Prime Minister Trần Hồng Hà (right) and Chairman of China’s BYD Co. Ltd. Wang Chuanfu (left) met for talks in Hanoi last week to discuss the automaker's expansion in the country. Image via the Vietnam News Agency.
The chairman of the world’s largest electric vehicle company, China’s BYD, met with Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Trần Hồng Hà in Hanoi late last week to discuss the company’s plans to expand in the ...
by Eric Olander

WEEK IN REVIEW: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz Embarks on Three-Day, Two-Nation African Tour

Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrives for the first day of a special meeting of the European Council at The European Council Building in Brussels on May 30, 2022. Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will embark on a three-day, two-nation African tour, marking the second G7 leader this week to visit the continent. Scholz will arrive in Ethiopia on Thursday and then go to ...
by Eric Olander

Connecting the Dots: China-India Rivalry Is Reshaping Indian Ocean Politics

An aerial view of the Maldives. It and other Indian Ocean island states are facing increasing overtures and pressure from both China and India. Image AFP
China and India are commercial rivals in fields as diverse as antibiotics and spices. The two are also increasingly trying to expand their influence among governments across the Indian Ocean region. The rivalry can’t ...
by Cobus van Staden

Chinese Scholars Say Closer Philippines-U.S. Ties Mark a “Dangerous Signal”

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris welcomed Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his wife, Louise Araneta-Marcos, as they arrived for brunch at the Vice President's residence in Washington, DC, on May 2, 2023. SAUL LOEB / AFP
Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his wife, Louise Araneta-Marcos, met U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris for brunch on Tuesday at her official residence in northwest Washington. D.C. During their talks at the ...
by Eric Olander

Chinese Netizens Fret About More Manufacturing Moving to Vietnam While Experts Say There’s No Reason to Worry

File image of an apparel factory in Hanoi, Vietnam that manufactures activewear for various international clothing brands. Nhac NGUYEN / AFP
A post went viral this week on the Chinese social media platform Weibo that highlighted the growing insecurity in China about the prospect of more manufacturing companies moving their operations overseas in response ...
by Han Zhen

Three Chinese Workers in Israel Injured in Palestinian Missile Attack

Video courtesy of Assaf Pozailov, a reporter with Israel's public broadcast service KAN News
Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip launched a barrage of 22 missiles on the neighboring Israeli city of Sderot on Tuesday, hitting a construction site where three Chinese workers were injured.  One worker ...
by Eric Olander

23 Tons of Kenyan Avocados Sold Out on the Day They Arrived in Hunan Province

Some of the 23 tons of Kenyan avocados that arrived in the central Chinese province of Hunan in April.
Kenyan avocados are once again flowing into the Chinese market, but not soon enough for many buyers who snapped 23 tons of the fruit that arrived last month in the Hunan capital of ...
by Eric Olander

China Now Getting Serious About Global South Debt Relief Because “They Are Now Being Burned” Says IMF Chief

Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, speaks during the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, on May 1, 2023. Patrick T. Fallon / AFP
The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, is once again signaling that China is now serious about participating in multilateral debt restructuring efforts for the world’s poorest countries. Georgieva said ...
by Eric Olander

Chinese-funded, Constructed Sakaï Solar Plant Powers up Central Africa Republic

File images of the Sakaï Solar Power Plant in the Central African Republic that was built and financed by China. Images via Xinhua.
The Central African Republic (CAR)’s first photovoltaic power plant is now operational following the successful launch of operation of the Sakaï Solar Power Plant last week. In the CAR, power cuts sometimes last 16 ...
by Njenga Hakeenah

New African Debt Database Shows Chinese Loans Are Cheap, But Not the Cheapest

source: Kiel Institute for the World Economy
Researchers at the Kiel Institue for the World Economy in Germany launched a new database of African debt that confirms a key Chinese talking point: Beijing’s loans to African countries are significantly cheaper ...
by Eric Olander

Chinese Military Construction Resumes in UAE: U.S. Intelligence

File image of the UAE's Khalifa Port. Karim Sahib / AFP
U.S. intelligence sources say construction has resumed on a suspected Chinese military facility in the United Arab Emirates, reports the Washington Post. The allegations form part of a recent leak of classified documents on ...
by Cobus van Staden

Japan’s PM Kishida Tours Africa Amid China Tensions

Image Via @JPN_PMO
Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced his government will provide $500 million to promote peace and stability in Africa. He made the announcement in Accra, the second stop in a week-long African tour explicitly aimed ...
by Cobus van Staden

Connecting the Dots: China’s Hebei Province and Africa

Large-scale agriculture in China's Hebei Province. The province is becoming an important player in Africa. Image: AFP
Beyond the central government and the Chinese Communist Party, China’s engagement with African countries is increasingly being driven by its provinces. Hebei, the crescent-shaped province circling Beijing, is a key example. We tracked ...
by Han Zhen

Uganda’s Oil & Gas Charm-Offensive on Chinese Companies as Activists Intensify EACOP Protests

A protester holds a placard calling for a halt to the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), during a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion, in central London on April 24, 2023. Ben Stansall / AFP
Climate security campaigner 350.org is pleading with financiers to withhold support of the construction of the 1,443km East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) which cuts across Tanzania and Uganda. On Thursday, the New York-based organization ...
by Njenga Hakeenah
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