CGSP Podcasts
Weekly discussions with key thought leaders about China’s engagement in Africa and the Global South.
podcast
Are Chinese IT Companies Doing Enough to Train Locals in Africa?
The Chinese telecom giant Huawei recently launched a massive publicity campaign to raise awareness in Africa about all that it is doing to train local employees. The company has opened at least five training centers in different countries across the ...
China's Undeserved Reputation for Building Bad Infrastructure in Africa
The Chinese build more infrastructure in Africa than any other country (foreign or African). Chinese banks are financing billions of dollars in new loans, aid packages and other deals to build badly-needed infrastructure across the continent and it's Chinese companies ...
Why Gambian Migrants Are Giving up on Their “China Dream”
They did not know very much about China but they had heard it was the world's second largest economy and Africa's leading trading partner, so they assumed there must be opportunity. Europe, of course, was their first choice but with EU countries overwhelmed by ...
The Honeymoon Between China and Africa Is Over and That's a Good Thing
It wasn't that long ago when it was all smiles between the Chinese and Africans. Remember? The headlines were all about "win-win" development, China's role in helping Africa to rise above its colonial past and investment, ...
There Are a Lot More Chinese Soldiers in Africa Today… And Likely More to Come
Over the past five years the Chinese military presence in Africa has undergone a profound change. Until 2012, the Chinese were happy to play a low-key support role in multinational peacekeeping operations on the continent, preferring to send military engineers and medical staff rather ...
China's Relationship Status with South Africa: "It's Complicated"
South Africa's relationship with China has undergone a profound transformation in a remarkably short period of time. In less than twenty years, these two countries have gone from barely acknowledging one another to developing a deep partnership that transcends economics, ...
China Was Once a Hot Destination for African Migrants, Not Anymore
It was not that long ago that entire neighborhoods in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou were overflowing with African migrants. Although there are no precise figures, scholars estimated that between 20,000-100,000 African immigrants used to lived in Guangzhou, or ...
The Danger of Too Much Chinese Debt in Africa
The financial implosion in Venezuela is prompting growing concern in Beijing that China may have been too ambitious in its drive to loan billions of dollars to high-risk countries throughout the global south. Persistently low oil ...
Namibia's Chinese Ivory Smugglers
Namibia is the rare country in Africa that seems to be holding its own against ivory poachers. Whereas in most other southern African countries the elephant population is being decimated, in Namibia, according to the government, the number of ...
Why the Stakes Are so High for China in South Sudan
Nowhere else in Africa do China's financial, diplomatic and geopolitical interests confront as much risk as they do in South Sudan. Beijing has invested billions of dollars in the country's oil sector, deployed over a thousand troops
China's Ambitious New 'Silk Road' Trade Route Takes Shape in Africa
Four years and hundreds of billions of dollars later, China's ambitious global trading strategy known as the "New Maritime Silk Road" or "One Belt, One Road" (OBOR) is now coming to life, particularly in parts of East Africa where major ...
Industrialization in Africa: Ethiopia Wants to Become the New 'Made in China'
There's a pretty good chance that some of the clothes you're wearing, the shoes on your feet and even the device you're using to read this were made in China. Even as its economy slows, China remains the world's factory, churning out billions of ...