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

India-China Border Talks Resume, Raising Hopes of a Xi-Modi Meeting

A file image of the military buildup on the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control. Image: Money Sharma / AFP
China and India held joint talks about their contested border a week before President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will both attend the BRICS summit in Johannesburg. Xi will also travel to New Delhi ...
by Cobus van Staden

Chinese Convoy Attacked in Pakistan, Two Militants Killed

Separatist militants ambushed a convoy of three SUVs carrying Chinese construction engineers on Sunday near the Port of Gwadar in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan Province, a key investment hub for the massive China-Pakistan Economic ...
by Eric Olander

As Tensions Between China and the Philippines Surge, Wang Yi Calls on a Few Old Friends in Southeast Asia

Chinese Foreign Minister met with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen (top), Sinaporean leader Lee Hsien Loong (middle) and Malaysia's Anwar Ibrahim during a three-nation SE Asian tour. Images via AFP.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi made a quick sprint through Southeast Asia over the weekend as part of a three-nation tour of Malaysia, Singapore, and Cambodia.  Wang met with the prime ministers in ...
by Eric Olander

China and the Philippines Warn Each Other Not to Push South China Sea Confrontation Too Far… Or Else

A man points a water hose at a photo of Chinese President Xi Jinping as he joins a protest outside the Chinese embassy in Manila on August 11, 2023, to condemn the water canon incident between China and Philippines Coast Guards in the South China/West Philippine Sea. JAM STA ROSA / AFP
Tensions between China and the Philippines steadily worsened over the weekend as both sides attacked the other for instigating the latest confrontation in their disputed waters in the South China Sea. In Manila, Armed ...
by Eric Olander

Massive Russian Energy Buys Are Transforming China’s Global Trade

File image of a Russian coal shipment being off-loaded in eastern Jiangsu province on July 12, 2023, for use in power generation plants in the surrounding area. AFP
Russia is now China’s largest single supplier of energy commodities in a shift that is also transforming Beijing’s trade engagement in countries throughout the Global South. Whereas fifteen years ago, China sourced a ...
by Eric Olander

Japan Moves to Build China-Free EV Battery Supply Chain

Nishimura Yasutoshi, Japan’s economy and industry minister, spent last week crisscrossing southern Africa on a five-nation tour at the behest of his country’s auto industry that is looking for new supplies of the raw ...
by Eric Olander

Burundi’s “Banana Riders” Go Viral on Chinese Social Media, Triggering Memories of China’s Own Development Journey

Eric, a young Burundian, barrels down a mountain at 70km an hour with more than 200 kilos of bananas strapped to his rickety bicycle in what looks like an absolutely terrifying race to ...
by Han Zhen

WEEK IN REVIEW: U.S. President Joe Biden Said He Will Travel to Vietnam “Shortly”

A planned summit of Quad leaders from the United States, India, Australia, and Japan in Sydney next week has been canceled after U.S. President Joe Biden pulled out of his visit. Jim WATSON / AFP
U.S. President Joe Biden said he will travel to Vietnam “shortly” and that Hanoi is interested in elevating its relationship with the United States and become a major partner. This follows a trip by ...
by Eric Olander

The U.S. is Popular in Southeast Asia, But Chinese Influence Isn’t Going Away: Study

A breakdown of popular and elite views of the U.S. and China in key Southeast Asian countries. Via CSIS.
While the United States is generally more liked among populations in Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam, they see China as the pivotal economic power in the region. This was one finding of a newly 
by Cobus van Staden

Reminder: China Will Be Central to Clean Tech Supply Chains for a Long Time

A set of graphs by FT showing China's centrality in critical minerals refining. Keep in mind that much of the nickel refining done in Indonesia is by Chinese firms.
Financial Times published a fascinating rundown of China’s ongoing centrality in the mining and refining of critical minerals. These minerals, which include lithium, cobalt and nickel, are key to many clean energy applications, from ...
by Cobus van Staden

Backgrounder: How India-China Relations Are Shaping Multilateral Bodies

A rare face-to-face meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in 2019. Image: India's Press Information Bureau / AFP
India and China’s fractious relationship reaches far beyond their disputed border. It influences politics in countries like the Maldives, where candidates in the upcoming presidential election are frequently defined according to their China/India alignment. ...
by Cobus van Staden

Tensions Surge Between China and the Philippines Over WWII Warship at the Center of Territorial Dispute

The Philippines refused to accede to China's demands that it remove the WWII warship Sierra Madre (background) from a disputed shoal in the South China/West Philippine Sea. Ted ALJIBE / AFP
The Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) immediately dismissed China’s call to remove a decommissioned World War II-era warship, the BRP Sierra Madre, from a disputed shoal in the South China Sea that ...
by Eric Olander

China Releases New Video That Aims to Counter Claims It Attacked the Philippine Supply Vessel

The China Coast Guard released a new video on Tuesday that aims to bolster its assertions that it did not strike the Philippine supply vessel with a direct blast of water but instead merely ...
by Eric Olander

China, Thailand Agree to Fight Call-Center Gangs

China's Public Security Vice Minister Xu Ganlu (left) met with Thailand's outgoing Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan (right) to discuss closer cooperation fighting organized crime. Image via The Nation/Asia News Network.
Senior Chinese and Thai security officials met in Bangkok on Tuesday to discuss closer cooperation to combat so-called  “call center gangs” that have ensnared thousands of Chinese nationals into forced labor across Southeast Asia. ...
by Eric Olander

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 ...

Chinese Weapons Giant Norinco Wants to Expand Its Business in West Africa

ERIC PIERMONT / AFP
The Chinese state-owned arms manufacturer Norinco opened a new sales office in the Senegalese capital Dakar this week as part of the company’s effort to expand its business in West Africa. The ...
by Eric Olander

Some 40 Countries Want to Join the BRICS Group, But Not Mexico, Says President

File image of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador who said he has no plans to join the queue to become a member of the BRICS group. CLAUDIO CRUZ / AFP
Applying to join the BRICS club has become increasingly fashionable among developing countries, with 40 states expressing interest in becoming a member of the China-initiated club — but not Mexico. President Andrés Manuel ...
by Eric Olander

Explosive Exposes Detail Chinese Influence-Building in Global South

Members of the the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), at a protest in 2018. Exposes have focused attention on Chinese influence-building in the organization. Image: Mujahid Safodien / AFP
A large New York Times expose claims that Chinese government funding has infiltrated a coalition of progressive and left-wing movements to boost Chinese in the U.S. as well as in such Global South countries ...
by Cobus van Staden

Backgrounder: The Chinese-Owned TV Company Beaming Into Africa

Map via The Wire China
Researchers following Chinese media influence in Africa have long concentrated on StarTimes, a Chinese-owned satellite TV company rapidly expanding its influence across the continent. However, unlike Chinese state media outlets like CGTN, StarTimes ...
by Cobus van Staden

China Funded Many Coal Plants Around the World. Retiring Them Early Could Be a Bargain

Chinese funding for overseas coal capacity by country. The red bars indicate case study countries analyzed in the report. Image: Boston University Global Development Policy Center
China has funded about 39 GW of coal electricity around the world, particularly in South and Southeast Asia. If these plants continue operating until the end of their lifespans, they will breach 2040 ...
by Cobus van Staden

Translation: Why Some Chinese Men in Africa Prefer Not to Return Home

SEYLLOU DIALLO / AFP
The following article was published on Congo Daily (今日刚果), a WeChat channel for the Chinese expatriate community in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The name or identity of the author is not known. What ...
by Han Zhen

China’s Use of a Water Canon Against Philippines Vessels Was Planned in Advance to Set an Example for Others, Says U.S. Analyst

Photos taken by the Philippines Coast Guard of a recent confrontation with the China Coast Guard in the South China Sea. Images via the Philippine Coast Guard.
The following is an excerpt from an article written by Ray Powell, director of the Project Myoushu at Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, that tracks Chinese maritime activity in the ...
by Eric Olander

China Coast Guard: Philippines Hyping South China Sea Issue at the Behest of Its “American Father”

View from a China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel of a confrontation with the Philippines Coast Guard (PCG) on August 5, 2023 that resulted in the CCG using a high-power water canon against various Philippines maritime vessels. Image via the China Coast Guard.
The China Coast Guard (CCG) published its side of the story in a post on WeChat on Sunday that blasted the Philippines for unnecessarily “hyping” what happened. It appears the tactic of the Philippine ...
by Han Zhen

China’s Foreign Ministry Signals Support for Niger’s Deposed President But Fails to Provide Any Specific Information

Exterior of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Beijing. Greg Baker/AFP
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs broke its silence regarding the recent coup in Niger. It issued a curt statement late last week that expressed support for deposed president Mohamed Bazoum but failed to ...
by Eric Olander

Japanese Minister’s Africa Tour Riles China as Tokyo Looks to Build Its Own EV Battery Metal Supply Chain

Japan's economy and industry minister Nishimura Yasutoshi. Image via NHK.
Japan’s Economy and Industry Minister Nishimura Yasutoshi arrived in Namibia on Sunday for the first leg of a five-nation Africa tour that focuses specifically on securing new supplies of critical resources needed to power electric ...
by Eric Olander

Global South Ambassadors Participate in State-led Xinjiang Junket and Didn’t “Find Any Human Rights Violations”

Dominica ambassador Martin Charles accused Western media of reporting lies about the human rights situation in XInjiang. Image via @ChinaDaily
Ambassadors from 25 developing countries completed a week-long junket to Xinjiang organized by the Chinese government and, according to Chinese state media, found “people in Xinjiang are enjoying a happy life.” The participants ...
by Eric Olander

WEEK IN REVIEW: Japanese Foreign Minister Arrived in South Africa on Tuesday on Three-Nation African Tour

Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks during the ASEAN Post Ministerial Conference with Japan at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Jakarta on July 13, 2023. BAGUS INDAHONO / POOL / AFP
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi arrived in South Africa on Tuesday for the first leg of a three-nation African tour that also includes stops in Uganda and Ethiopia. Hayashi’s visit is widely seen as part of ...
by Eric Olander

BRICS Enlargement Will Bring “Tectonic Change”: SA Ambassador

Anil Sooklal is South Africa’s ambassador to the BRICS group. Image via @BRICSza
Bolivia has become the newest country interested in joining the BRICS group. 22 countries have submitted formal requests to join, with another 20 informal expressions of interest in the pipeline.  Anil Sooklal, South Africa’s ...
by Cobus van Staden

China Tries To Rebut Reports That It Killed G20 Renewable Energy Commitment

A delegate arrives at the G20 climate talks in Chennai, India in late July. Image: R. Satish Badu / AFP
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs pushed back this week against reports that China helped to block a G20 measure to triple renewable energy capacity. The Ministry called the reports “completely inconsistent with the facts.” ...
by Cobus van Staden

Inside Details of China’s Oil Buys from Iran

Chinese President Xi Jinping with Iranian leader Ebrahim Raisi during the latter's visit to Beijing in February. Image: Iranian Presidency / AFP
Iran’s oil output has jumped by 80% to about 1 million barrels per day since President Ebrahim Raisi took power in 2021. China is one of the Islamic Republic’s largest oil buyers, despite ...
by Cobus van Staden

10 Years and a Trillion Dollars Later, the BRI Turns Green

File image of a Chinese-financed and built solar power plant in the Central African Republic that is part of Beijing's trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative. Image via Xinhua.
China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) crossed a number of critical milestones in the first half of the year that seem to demonstrate President Xi Jinping’s signature foreign policy initiative is still going ...
by Eric Olander
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