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After Washington Talks, U.S. and EU Moves on Critical Minerals Put China and Global South at Center

The Washington critical minerals talks have already begun translating into policy. Within hours of the meeting, U.S. lawmakers and allies announced a coordinated set of proposals—from expanded export finance to strategic stockpiles—signaling a faster, more interventionist push to loosen China’s grip on global ...

Trump Launches $12 Billion Minerals Stockpile to Counter China

By Ernest Scheyder and Jarrett Renshaw U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans on Monday to launch a strategic stockpile of critical minerals backed by $10 billion in seed funding from the U.S. Export-Import Bank. "For ...

Inside the Fine Print: Understanding Finance Contracts in Chinese-supported Power Projects

Every power plant begins long before a single shovel hits the ground. Before turbines are ordered, before concrete is poured, and well before the lights ever flicker on, a dense legal and financial architecture must first be assembled. For state-backed Chinese infrastructure projects in Africa, that ...

How China Really Secures Its Loans to Developing Countries

The "debt trap" meme claims that China is intentionally lending vast sums of money to poor developing countries in Africa, and elsewhere, with the express intent to seize physical assets in those countries when they inevitably can't repay their debts.

Understanding China’s Role in Africa’s Power Sector: A New Series from The China-Global South Project

China is helping build nearly one in every five power plants operating in Sub-Saharan Africa today, yet most people know very little about how these projects come together. As electricity demand rises and traditional development partners pull back, China’s influence is becoming even more significant.

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

Confusing Developments in “Development”

This week I’m in Brussels, where I took part in a workshop on how the EU should shape its development strategy in response to China’s global influence.
I have joked in the past that it feels like I’ve attended this same ‘EU, Africa, and External Development Partners’ conference for ten years straight. 

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Power Plays: China’s Changing Energy Financing in Africa

By Wu Tianyi Over the past two decades, Chinese financing in Africa has boomed and waned and undergone cycles of change. Initially dominated by lending from state-owned policy banks for large infrastructure and energy projects, notably in coal and hydropower, the ...

All Hands-on Deck Needed for Development Finance—including China

By Tim Hirschel-Burns Many people in the development finance community migrated up the United States' eastern seaboard over the weekend. Last week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group Spring Meetings took place in Washington D.C., while this week ...

Zambia Expresses Optimism It Can Allay Chinese Concerns Over Debt Deal

The Zambian Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane said he's hopeful his country's three-year debt restructuring odyssey can finally be resolved sometime before June. Musokotwane was cautious about providing any specific timetable but said on Wednesday that he's nonetheless optimistic he can resolve Chinese concerns ...

China’s Promises of a Green Future Raises More Questions Than Answers

For the climate-minded, this week’s report from the Boston Global Development Policy Center about trends in Chinese energy finance made for sobering reading. Of the $251 billion China Development Bank and China Exim Bank provided for energy projects between 2000 and 2022, ...

Where’s the Green? New Research Raises Doubts About China Investments in Sustainable Energy

At the Belt and Road Forum in October, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s keynote speech was peppered with the word “green.” He committed China to numerous green initiatives, including “green infrastructure, green energy and green transportation.” The problem is that China’s global energy ...

Kenya Wildly Overpaid for Chinese-Built Railway: Politician

As increased debt payments eat into Kenya’s budget, the business executive and 2022 presidential contender Jimi Wanjigi alleges that the country overpaid by more than 100% for the Standard Gauge Railway. The controversial project, built by China Road and Bridge Corporation, has ...

China Unexpectedly Backs Sri Lanka Debt Plan, Clearing the Way for Desperately-needed IMF Rescue Funds

After months of delays and obfuscation, the China Exim Bank suddenly and unexpectedly reversed course this week and agreed to fully support Colombo's debt restructuring plan. President Ranil Wickremesinghe broke the news on Tuesday when he told parliament that China Exim would ...
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