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With an Eye on China, Angola Becomes Key Partner for U.S. Ambitions for Africa

By Bronwen Roberts Joe Biden's choice of Angola as his first trip to Africa as president underscores the oil-rich country's influence as the focus of one of the biggest U.S. infrastructure projects on the continent, countering China's investments. ...

Blinken Asks China, Others to Rein in Iran on Israel

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has asked China's foreign minister and other counterparts to use their influence to dissuade Iran from striking Israel, the State Department said Thursday. Blinken spoke by telephone over the past day to his Chinese, Turkish, ...

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

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 can make the relationship between U.S. and China better, we will. We enjoy a ...

Africa in the Background as Geopolitics Dominate the G20 

The G20 summit in Bali is firmly focused on great power politics, with few Global South issues getting any oxygen so far.  The meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping unsurprisingly dominated the coverage. ...

A Conversation with Molly Phee, the Top U.S. Diplomat for Africa

This Summer the United States updated its foreign policy for Africa when it shifted the focus from competing with China to improving governance and bolstering trade ties with the region. Now, three months later, the State Department's top diplomat for ...

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 ...

Week in Review: Taiwan, Tesla, and Antony Blinken’s Upcoming Africa Tour

China mounted an intercontinental media response throughout the Global South this week to rage against U.S. Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan. Managing Editor Cobus van Staden and Francophone Editor Geraud Neema break down why developing countries, including several in Africa, ...

The China-Mediterranean Observer: Assessing the Impact of the Chinese Defense Minister’s Recent Visit to Iran

We start this issue of the ChinaMed Observer reporting on the visit to Iran made by the Chinese Minister of Defence, Wei Fenghe. During the visit on April 27th Wei met with several high-ranking Iranian officials, including President Seyed Ebrahim Raisi, Minister of Defense General Mohammad-Reza Gharayi ...

Blinken’s Visit to Algeria Highlights North Africa’s Heightened Geopolitical Importance

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (photo) will cross the border from Morocco to Algeria on Wednesday where he's to meet with President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. And the fact that this is the first visit by a U.S. Secretary of State ...

China’s Response to Blinken’s Africa Tour: Indifference Mixed With Anger

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued two seemingly contradictory messages on Monday in response to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's new foreign policy strategy for Africa, which avoided any references to China. The Secretary went out of his way during last week's three-nation African tour ...

U.S. Beltway Analysts and Journalists Mostly Praise Blinken’s New Approach to China in Africa

Journalists, think tank analysts, and scholars largely expressed approval for U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's new, less confrontational approach to China's engagement in Africa. It's important to note, however, that often the views of these analysts tend to be far ...

Blinken Arrives in Kenya, Kicks Off Week-Long Africa Tour

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in the Kenyan capital on Tuesday to begin a three-nation, five-day Africa tour that will also take him to Nigeria and Senegal. While the worsening security situation in Ethiopia will top the ...

Howard French on the Stark Differences Between U.S. and Chinese Diplomacy in Africa

Author and journalist Howard French is promoting his new book Born in Blackness: Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War. In a conversation this week with the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs he commented on ...
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