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Amid Twin Political and Economic Crises, Tunisia Turns on West and Announces Intent to Join BRICS

The Tunisian government angrily pushed back against both the International Monetary Fund and the European Union over how to resolve the North African country's twin economic and political crises. President Kais Saied bluntly told the IMF on Friday that he ...

Now It’s the EU’s Turn to Try and Change South Africa’s Mind About Russia and Upcoming Joint Naval Exercises With China

The European Union's top foreign policy official Josep Borrell is the latest foreign dignitary to pass through Pretoria in what appears to be a vain effort to persuade South Africa's international relations minister Naledi Pandor to reconsider Pretoria's stance on Russia's invasion of Ukraine and upcoming joint naval ...

EU’s Answer to China’s BRI Takes Shape in Africa

The European Union unveiled a $776 million infrastructure financing package for Africa on Tuesday as part of its Global Gateway initiative that is aimed at challenging China's growing influence in developing regions. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen ...

WEEK IN REVIEW: Singapore Prime Minister Said There Is No Consensus yet About China Joining the Trans-Pacific Trade Pact CPTPP

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Long said there is no consensus yet about China joining the trans-Pacific trade pact CPTPP. Although Prime Minister Lee said on Tuesday that he personally believes China would be able to meet the bloc's admission requirements, Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell is on ...

Europe and China: Tell Us You Distrust Each Other Without Actually Telling Us You Distrust Each Other

Not surprisingly, China isn't mentioned once in the program of official events for the ongoing "Africa-Europe Week" that kicked off on Monday and will culminate in the two-day leaders' summit in Brussels.  But just because China isn't on the ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

Plugging into African Agency

After several years of declining funding, the African end of the Belt and Road Initiative seems to be roaring back. The newest Griffith University/Green Development Finance Center data on the Belt and Road Initiative shows that engagement with Africa jumped by 395%, while a few big projects boosted engagement in Nigeria alone more than twelvefold.
These shifts indicate a window of opportunity for African electrification. 60% of Africans still ...

The West’s Ignorance About What China’s Doing in Africa is a Feature Not a Bug

Those of us who concentrate on Africa-China relations have long warned that the current framing of the relationship as a zero-sum arena in a new cold war strips African states of agency. The problem isn’t only that it flattens the complex ...

Josep Borrell’s Misguided Views on Chinese Vaccines in Africa

European Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell is really unhappy with how the bloc's member states have hoarded vaccines for themselves at the expense of developing countries in Africa and Latin America. On Friday he criticized the EU's contributions to those regions as "insufficient."