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 ...
Tag: Brussels
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The European Union must ramp up efforts to break its dependence on China for rare earths faced with export curbs that amount to a "racket" by Beijing, the bloc's industry chief Stephane Sejourne said Tuesday. China, the world's top producer of ...
EU, China to Hold ‘Urgent’ Talks on Rare Earth Curbs
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Does Europe Want to Compete With China in the Global South?
By Lukas Fiala When Ursula von der Leyen took on the top job in Brussels back in 2019, she vowed to transform the European Union’s quasi-government—the European Commission—into a “geopolitical Commission.” Little did EU bureaucrats ...
It’s Time to Take the BRICS More Seriously
As longtime readers of this column and listeners of our podcasts may know, I've been quite critical of the BRICS in recent years. Beyond the creation of a mid-sized development finance bank, this is a group with few other accomplishments to boast about in its 15-year existence. ...
BRI Isn’t Intended to Undermine the West, Says China’s EU Ambassador
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Nickel and Diming Poor Countries on Loss and Damage Will Bite the Global North
The debate about compensating the Global South for loss and damage relating to climate change at the COP27 climate summit sparked a debate at the China Global South Project. This column is in response to Eric's take yesterday. The ...
We Need to Acknowledge That Climate Justice Could Be Doomed
The historical enormity of the discussion at the COP27 climate summit around reparations to the Global South for the loss and damage caused by climate change provoked a conversation at the China Global South Project, and we wanted to share it with you. Here is Eric's take. ...
EU-Africa Summit Set to Begin Amid a Rapidly Changing Geopolitical Landscape
African leaders have been arriving in Brussels all week in advance of the two-day Europe-Africa summit that begins tomorrow. But the timing of this year's gathering comes as some in Europe are bracing for what could be the continent's largest war since WWII and an increasingly contentious ...
New Generation of China-Africa Scholars is Younger and More Diverse
It wasn't that long ago when most China-Africa scholars were white professors based in European or U.S. universities. That is no longer true anymore. A recent academic conference in Brussels showcased the new face of Sino-African academia that is younger, more ethnically and geographically ...










