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China Eases Transit Rules for Indonesians. Jakarta Should Push for More.

China’s recent inclusion of Indonesia in its 240-hour visa-free transit program is a notable, if not entirely surprising, development. While Indonesia is now among the 55 countries benefiting from this arrangement, the move signals a step forward in the broader relationship between the two nations. For ...

China’s May Day Tourists Flock to an Unlikely New Hotspot: Central Asia

Over the recent Labor Day holiday on May 1st, an unexpected destination emerged as a top choice for Chinese tourists venturing overseas: Central Asia.  While Southeast Asia once dominated the list of overseas travel favorites, recent high-profile cases involving telecom fraud ...

China’s May Day Tourists Flock to an Unlikely New Hotspot: Central Asia

Over the recent Labor Day holiday on May 1st, an unexpected destination emerged as a top choice for Chinese tourists venturing overseas: Central Asia.  While Southeast Asia once dominated the list of overseas travel favorites, recent high-profile cases involving telecom fraud ...

China Urges Citizens to Take ‘Caution’ in Lebanon Travel

China's embassy in Beirut urged citizens to "travel with caution" when visiting Lebanon, warning that they face "higher security risks" as fears of a regional conflict soar. In a statement issued Monday evening Beijing time, the embassy warned citizens the situation ...

What Did Speculation About Xi’s Fictitious Trip to Saudi Arabia Tell Us About China’s Broader Mideast Strategy

By Leonardo Bruni Earlier this month, the internet was rife with speculation that Xi Jinping would soon break his more than two-year-long hiatus from overseas travel to visit Saudi Arabia. Although the visit did not take place, the media buzz surrounding ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

BRICS Announces Numerous New Initiatives

The BRICS group wrapped up its two-day leaders’ summit in Rio de Janeiro on Monday. The summit’s final communique is a 16,000-word doorstop that covers numerous issues from economics to education.
The communique avoids any direct mention of the United States, and references to “unilateralism” and other coded criticism are also relatively scarce. Rather, the communique keeps the focus on the BRICS’ vision of the strengthening and reform of the global multilateral system ...

What Did Chinese Community Leaders in Africa Think of the Two Sessions Meeting in Beijing?

Since last Friday, Chinese news has carried wall-to-wall coverage of the Two Sessions "parliamentary pageant" in Beijing. Not surprisingly, it's been followed by Chinese expats across Africa. The Two Sessions meetings provide a rare glimpse into the ...

A Group of South African Tourist Guides Graduated From a Chinese Language and Culture Program… But There’s One Small Problem Though

16 tour guides in South Africa graduated on Friday from a six-week program that taught them Chinese language and culture in the hope they'll be able to better support what was once one of the fastest-growing sources of tourism to SA.

South Africa is Training More Tour Guides to Speak Chinese

Thanks to direct flights and a streamlined visa approval process, visitors from China were among the fastest-growing segment in South Africa's tourism market. At least, that was before the COVID-19 outbreak. But once the borders open again and travel resumes, South ...

Africans Inoculated With Sinopharm Blocked From Entering the European Union

 Europe is gradually reopening to vaccinated travelers as coronavirus restrictions ease, but in some African nations such as Morocco recipients of jabs not recognized by the EU are facing disappointment. “It seems very much as if a vaccine has become a ...

The Mideast’s Travel and Hospitality Industry Has a Lot at Stake in the WHO’s Impending Ruling on Chinese Vaccines

Representatives from the Mideast's travel industry are closely watching their news feeds for any updates on the World Health Organization's impending decision as to whether or not to grant emergency use approval to Chinese-made COVID-19 vaccines Sinopharm and Sinovac. Currently, the ...

In a Bid to Get People Back in the Air, Ethiopian Airlines Deploys Chinese Tech For Rapid Passenger COVID Testing

Ethiopian Airlines is hoping that a new Chinese-made COVID-19 rapid testing facility at its hub in Addis Ababa will resuscitate its passenger business. The airline partnered with BGI Health Ethiopia, a subsidiary of China's biotech giant, the BGI Genomics Co, to build the new testing center at Bole ...

U.S. Tries to Persuade Africa It’s a Credible Alternative to China

The United States regards Africa as a key arena to confront China's rising influence in the developing world. With its new $60 billion International Development Finance Corporation and its Prosper Africa policy framework unveiled last year, the Trump administration is working ...
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