CGSP Podcasts
Weekly discussions with key thought leaders about China’s engagement in Africa and the Global South.
podcast
Chinese Immigrants in Africa Assimilate Far More Than You May Think
It's often widely assumed that Chinese immigrants in Africa prefer to isolate themselves from local communities and generally resist assimilation. That perception, though, is incorrect according to the findings of two leading scholars from Hong Kong, Yan Hairong and Barry Sautman, ...
China’s Unconventional Agricultural Assistance in Zambia
Daisy Kambandu, the country program manager for the Chinese-run Agricultural Technology Demonstration Center (ATDC) in Zambia, joins Eric & Cobus to discuss China's unconventional approach to agricultural assistance. In contrast to most traditional aid programs, ATDCs like the one near Lusaka ...
Debunking Fake China-Africa News
AFP Fact Check journalist Mayowa Tijani joins Eric & Cobus from Lagos to discuss his reporting that debunks fake news, particularly videos and other stories related to China-Africa. Misleading and downright false information have long been a hallmark of ...
China’s Ties With Nigeria Are a Lot Better Than They Seem
Lagos State University political science lecturer Abdul-Gafar Tobi Oshodi joins Eric & Cobus this week to discuss the current state of China-Nigeria relations. After a turbulent past few months following the events in Guangzhou back in April and now calls ...
Africa’s Private Debt: What to do About Those Vulture Funds Circling Overhead?
It's been almost three months since Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed issued one of the first calls for emergency debt relief for Africa. Back in March, when the prime minister posted his appeal to the G20 on Twitter, COVID-19 had ...
A Conversation With Joshua Meservey About Alleged Chinese Spying in Africa
The Chinese have been prolific over the past decade in constructing hundreds of government buildings across the continent. Parliaments, ministries, presidential palaces, and most notably, even the headquarters of the African Union. Many of these buildings serve an important purpose by ...
Debt Relief in Africa: A Conversation With Renaissance Capital’s Charlie Robertson
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Mohamed was among the first African leaders to issue an urgent appeal for debt relief back in March even before COVID-19 had become a serious public health issue on the continent.“COVID-19 poses an existential threat to the ...
China to Finance and Build a Massive New Coal Power Plant in Zimbabwe
The Zimbabwean government announced last month that construction of the new $3 billion Sengwa coal power plant will proceed after years of negotiation. The new 2,800 megawatt plant will be a joint effort between ...
Assessing China’s “Corona Diplomacy” in Africa
Even though China spends considerably less than the U.S. and Europeans on public health assistance in Africa, Beijing is seemingly dominating the narrative with its high profile donations of food, PPE, and medical missions.
The Complicated Politics of Chinese Dam Construction in Guinea
The 450-megawatt Souapiti hydroelectric dam in Guinea is scheduled to begin operating this fall and will bring badly-needed electricity to one of Africa’s poorest countries. The dam is one of dozens of similar hydroelectric power ...
China’s Been Doing Agricultural Development in Africa For 10+ Years. Is it Helping?
China’s approach to agricultural assistance in Africa differs markedly from those of other donors from Japan, Europe and the United States. While other countries frame their development programs under the larger of “aid,” the Chinese instead go out of their way ...
Why so Many Chinese & Africans See What Happened in Guangzhou in Starkly Different Ways
Perceptions over what led to the crisis in Guangzhou back in early April remain starkly divided among Chinese and African stakeholders. Chinese officials vehemently deny that Africans were specifically targeted for additional health COVID-19 health screenings (“epidemic prevention” in the Chinese ...