The China in Africa Podcast

Assessing the impact of Chinese media influence in Africa

The China Project — Thu, 26 Oct 2023 15:11:01 +0000

China's media presence in Africa is far more pervasive today than it was a decade ago, but not in the conventional way. Very few people consume China's traditional media offerings on the continent but millions, often unaware, engage with Chinese-produced messaging online on a near-daily basis. The Chinese government has become very sophisticated in distributing its content to African news outlets which is then published on websites and social media platforms. Beijing also does extensive media outreach across Africa, providing journalists with training, equipment, and complementary trips to China. Dani Madrid-Morales, a journalism lecturer at the University of Sheffield, has been tracking Chinese media engagement in Africa for more than ten years and joins Eric & Cobus to provide an update on the latest trends. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @dmadrid_m Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth

Africa’s strong presence at China’s Belt & Road Forum

The China Project — Fri, 20 Oct 2023 15:13:11 +0000

Five of the 24 heads of state who attended this week's Belt and Road Forum in Beijing were from African countries, highlighting the prominent role the continent played at the event. Many of the themes that emerged from the two-day forum align neatly with key African priorities related to new development finance and greater access to the Chinese market. Join Geraud, Cobus, and Eric for a lively discussion on the key takeaways from this year's forum and whether African countries really do stand to benefit from the next iteration of the Belt and Road Initiative. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @christiangeraud Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth

Zimbabwe’s elite share their views on China: What a new survey reveals

The China Project — Thu, 12 Oct 2023 18:55:34 +0000

Across Africa, public opinion about China has been quite positive overall with favorability ratings surpassing those of other major powers, including the United States. But not in Zimbabwe, at least among the country's elites, according to a new survey. Only 37% of urban, educated Zimbabweans felt positive about China's impact on their country, significantly lower than the 63% favorability score that Afrobarometer recorded just a couple of years ago. The new poll was conducted earlier this year by William Hautungimana and Haruka Nagao, both assistant professors at Oklahoma State University in the United States. William joins Eric & Cobus from Stillwater, Oklahoma to explain why China's approval rating is comparatively low and what's fueling the skepticism about the Chinese in Zimbabwe. SHOW NOTES: The Conversation: We asked 1,000 Zimbabweans what they think of China’s influence on their country − only 37% viewed it favorably: https://bit.ly/3rN8iCo JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @williamhautung1 Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug!

Africa at the intersection of three megatrends: China, climate, and debt

The China Project — Thu, 28 Sep 2023 15:16:59 +0000

Dramatic scenes this week in Italy where 7,000 people, mostly from Africa, came ashore after making the dangerous trek across the Mediterranean. It was a similar situation along the U.S.-Mexico border where 9,000 people crossed in a single day. Poverty, in many cases, is fueling this latest migration surge due in part to the worsening economic conditions in many of these countries, particularly in Africa which is now the epicenter of twin climate and debt crises. David McNair, executive director of Global Policy at the UK-based One Campaign, joins Eric & Cobus to discuss his latest research on African debt repayments and how stark inequities make it impossible for many of the world's poorest governments to do anything to mitigate the effects of climate change. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Sign up to receive the One.org Aftershocks weekly newsletter: data.one.org/aftershocks/ X: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @david_mcnair Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth

Chinese lending to Africa plunges to 20-year low

The China Project — Thu, 21 Sep 2023 15:13:14 +0000

Chinese lending to African countries plunged to below a billion dollars in 2022, the lowest level in two decades, according to new data from the Global Development Policy Center at Boston University. The findings confirm that the era of Beijing financing large-scale infrastructure projects on the continent is now officially over. Instead, Chinese creditors are focusing on smaller, more sustainable initiatives in green energy and telecommunications, among others. But this new, austere engagement strategy is going to fundamentally change China's relationship with the continent that, in many ways, was buttressed by once-generous loans. Oyintarelado (Tarela) Moses, data analyst/database manager at the BU Global Development Policy Center, joins Eric & Cobus to discuss the new lending figures and explain what's behind the downturn. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @tarelamoses LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oyintarelado-tarela-moses-05998968/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouthC

WEEK IN REVIEW: AU in G20 and the new “Chinese Savior” narrative in Africa

The China Project — Fri, 15 Sep 2023 14:31:05 +0000

The Chinese Foreign Ministry was among the first major governments this week to welcome the African Union as the newest member of the G20. The big question now is what will the AU do now that it has a seat at the table? Plus, Kenya's already dire economic situation gets worse and a new big-budget Chinese medical drama set in a fictitious African country released this week on major Chinese streaming platforms, the latest installment in the burgeoning genre of "Chinese savior" narratives. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amit-jain-consultant Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CGSP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new China-Africa Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

Why boosting Africa-Southeast Asian trade & investment makes so much sense

The China Project — Thu, 07 Sep 2023 14:29:19 +0000

There's been a surge of activity in Africa-ASEAN relations in recent weeks highlighted by Indonesian President Joko Widodo's recent African tour and the Singapore-Africa Business Forum that took place earlier this month in the Lion City. Closer trade and investment ties make sense for both regions as the traditional engines of economic growth in China and Europe continue to slow. Amit Jain, director of the Centre for African Studies at Nanyang Technological University, joins Eric & Cobus from Singapore to discuss the growing interest in Africa among Southeast Asian investors and why they've been so reluctant until now to get more engaged. Plus, in their postscript, Eric & Cobus discuss this week's Africa Climate Summit and why it turned out to be yet another disappointing climate conference. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amit-jain-consultant Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CGSP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new China-Africa Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

China’s indispensable role in Africa’s railway renaissance

The China Project — Fri, 01 Sep 2023 14:26:21 +0000

Over the past 20 years, tens of thousands of kilometers of new railway lines have been built across Africa - much of it constructed and financed by China. But the days when Beijing paid big bucks to build these kinds of large-scale infrastructure projects in Africa have come to an end. Today, China's development priorities on the continent are focused more on fostering industrialization and building smaller, greener projects mostly in the energy and telecommunications sectors. But even without the Chinese, a number of African governments are moving forward with ambitious plans to build vast regional rail networks. Tim Zajontz, a lecturer in international relations at the University of Dresden, and Mandira Bagwandeen, a senior researcher at the University of Cape Town, join Eric & Cobus to discuss their new book on Africa's railway renaissance and China's indispensable role. SHOW NOTES:

Amazon: Africa’s Railway Renaissance: The Role and Impact of China by Tim Zajontz, Pádraig Carmody, Mandira Bagwandeen, Anthony Leysens: https://amzn.to/45z0McL
The China-Global South Project: An Unforgettable Journey on East Africa’s Chinese-Built Railways, Old and New by Zhang Haotian: https://bit.ly/3YBRESd

JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @tzajontz LinkedIn:

Tim Zajontz: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-zajontz-phd-a27749121/
Mandira Bagwandeen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mandira-bagwandeen-07422328/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

Africa’s prominent role in the new “BRICS6”

The China Project — Fri, 25 Aug 2023 13:26:28 +0000

The once lifeless BRICS bloc got a big boost of energy this week with the addition of six new members including two additional African states from Egypt and Ethiopia. Together, African countries will now account for nearly a third of the 11-member group -- far more than any other international multilateral organization. The announcement to enlarge the bloc came at the end of a high-profile three-day leaders summit in Johannesburg. Adhere Cavince, a Nairobi-based China-Africa researcher, spent much of the week in Johannesburg attending events on the sidelines of the summit and joins Eric & Geraud to discuss what a new beefed-up BRICS means for Africa and the Global South more broadly. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject| @christiangeraud | @eric_olander | @cavinceworld LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/adhere-cavince-9039831a Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

BRICS Summit preview

The China Project — Fri, 18 Aug 2023 03:54:32 +0000

The Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed President Xi Jinping will travel to South Africa to attend the upcoming BRICS summit, the first time he'll visit Africa since 2018. Xi will be joined by three other of the group's leaders along with Russian President Vladimir Putin who will attend remotely. The two main priorities at this year's gathering will be expanding the bloc's membership to include any of the two dozen countries that have applied to join and the creation of a new BRICS currency as an alternative to the U.S. dollar. Emmanuel Matambo, research director at the University of Johannesburg's Africa-China Studies Centre, joins Eric & Cobus to discuss the upcoming summit and whether anything substantive will emerge from the discussions. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

China’s low-key response to the Niger coup

The China Project — Fri, 11 Aug 2023 16:04:13 +0000

The Chinese government has been noticeably quiet in response to the turbulent events in Niger where President Mohamed Bazoum was deposed last month in a military coup. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has issued three pro-forma statements about what happened in Niamey that are very different in both tone and substance to Beijing's response to a similar uprising in Guinea in 2021. CGSP's Francophone Africa Editor Geraud Neema joins Eric to explain why Beijing's reaction to this latest is far more understated and what he thinks is at stake more broadly for Chinese interests in West Africa. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander |@christiangeraud Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

Nigerians’ (misplaced) anxiety about Chinese debt

The China Project — Thu, 03 Aug 2023 16:00:53 +0000

For years, Nigerian politicians and media reports have issued breathless warnings about the dangers of becoming too indebted to China, fearing the dreaded "debt trap" and the risk of surrendering the country's strategic assets. While the economic risks associated with taking on too much debt are indeed relevant in Nigeria today where the government now owes creditors more than $100 billion, China, though, is not the problem. Chinese loans, in fact, account for just around 4% of total public debt. So what's behind the Nigerian anxiety over Chinese loans? Zuhumnan Dapel, an economist and non-resident senior fellow at the University of St. Andrews' Nigerian Economic Summit Group, joins Eric & Cobus to explain what's driving this narrative and how it fits within the larger Nigerian debt debate. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander |@dapelzg Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

What a railway in Kenya reveals about how China builds things in Africa

The China Project — Wed, 02 Aug 2023 19:29:32 +0000

The Kenyan government's controversial decision to end certain subsidies and raise taxes sparked days of violent protests in Nairobi. While the move sparked a massive backlash, President William Ruto nonetheless clearly felt he had no other choice if he wanted to avoid defaulting on the country's ballooning national debt. A sizable portion of that debt, around 10%, is owed to Chinese creditors for the construction of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), Kenya's largest-ever infrastructure project. Now, a series of documentaries and research initiatives are revealing the complex politics behind this massive infrastructure and that Kenyan stakeholders had much more agency in the negotiations with China than many presumed. Soundbites to African Uncensored - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8SSOIb3zzK8e9e9rLPEe-UQxv_IZep_K JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander |@huangzhengli | @gediminasle Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

China’s tactics and methods to influence African media

The China Project — Thu, 20 Jul 2023 21:00:31 +0000

Confucius Institutes (CIs) were once known only for teaching Mandarin language and culture classes but the organization's mission has evolved recently to now include "training" sessions for African journalists on how to cover China. CIs are now part of a robust Chinese toolkit that Beijing uses to try and frame media narratives in Africa on certain international issues related to human rights, sovereignty, and its escalating feud with the United States among others. Emeka Umejei is a longtime scholar of Chinese media engagement in Africa who previously taught at Wits University in South Africa, the American University of Nigeria, and is now with the Centre for Analysis for Authoritarian Influence in Africa. He joins Eric & Cobus from Johannesburg to discuss the latest trends in China's efforts to influence African media. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander |@emekaumejei Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

Mapping the Chinese cobalt supply chain in the DR Congo

The China Project — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 15:30:47 +0000

The China-Global South Project is proud to announce the first-ever mapping of the Chinese cobalt supply chain in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. CGSP launched a new interactive map this week that includes a full breakdown of mining data by Chinese and other firms, an overview of the main logistics routes, and five years of export data that details precisely where the cobalt goes when it leaves Africa. CGSP Francophone Editor Geraud Neema led this pioneering research initiative that took nine months to compile. Geraud joins Eric & Cobus to share the key findings from the data that reveal China's vast and complicated role in the race to control what is now one of the world's most important resources. SHOW NOTES:

User Guide: Interactive Map of Copper & Cobalt Production in the DR Congo: www.chinaglobalsouth.com/cobalt
View the Data: www.chinaglobalsouth.com/cobaltmap

JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander |@christiangeraud Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

Bases, training, and weapon sales: latest trends in China-Africa military ties

The China Project — Tue, 11 Jul 2023 15:28:04 +0000

Three Chinese warships made ports of call in Ghana and Nigeria this month, prompting a new wave of speculation about Beijing's military ambitions in Africa. The PLA Navy visit followed reports that Chinese miners in the Central African Republic were rescued by a group of Russian mercenaries which also triggered questions as to whether the controversial Wagner Group is now working more closely with Chinese entities on the continent. All of this is set against a backdrop of increasingly close military-to-military ties between the PLA and their counterparts in Africa. Paul Nantulya, a research associate at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies in Washington, D.C., is among the foremost experts on Chinese military engagement on the continent. He joins Eric & Cobus to discuss his latest research on the increasingly close ties between Chinese and African militaries for training and education which are also closely linked to increased Chinese weapons sales. SHOW NOTES:

U.S. Institute of Peace: Chinese Professional Military Education for Africa: Key Influence and Strategy by Paul Nantulya: https://bit.ly/44hIts7
Africa Center for Strategic Studies: China’s Policing Models Make Inroads in Africa by Paul Nantulya

JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander |@pnantulya Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

[WEEK IN REVIEW]: China and Zambia’s landmark debt deal

The China Project — Fri, 30 Jun 2023 15:25:02 +0000

After nearly two years of painful, drawn-out negotiations, Zambia finally closed a deal to restructure its bilateral external debt. The announcement was made last week at a global development finance summit in Paris and the new agreement is widely seen as a landmark deal since for the first time it brought together traditional lenders, private sector lenders along with new creditors like China, India, and Saudi Arabia. The terms of the deal though are also groundbreaking and, in many ways, look a lot like China's restructurings in other developing countries. Geraud, Cobus, and Eric this week dive into the details of the deal and discuss whether China did, in fact, set the agenda here or if Beijing was merely one among many actors that worked collaboratively to reach a consensus. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander |@christiangeraud Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

WEEK IN REVIEW: China’s new green energy diplomacy in Africa

The China Project — Sat, 24 Jun 2023 21:53:12 +0000

Over the past six months, there's been a noticeable increase in the number of green energy deals announced by Chinese private and state-owned enterprises in Africa. But unlike the earlier era of Chinese-financed infrastructure development in Africa, this new push into renewable energy is much smaller in scale and far more targeted. This week, Geraud and Cobus join Eric to discuss what's behind the recent surge in green energy initiatives across the continent and how renewable power projects are emerging as a new form of Chinese soft power in Africa -- a new "green diplomacy" agenda. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander |@christiangeraud Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

A conversation with Judd Devermont, one of the chief architects of U.S. foreign policy in Africa

The China Project — Fri, 16 Jun 2023 16:09:11 +0000

Since the end of the Cold War in the early 90s, Africa has largely been an afterthought in Washington where it was never regarded as a top-tier priority. That changed last year when the Biden administration launched a new foreign policy for the continent and declared that it was "all in" in boosting ties with African countries. A key part of that strategy was also to reduce the intense focus on confronting China and instead focus more attention on bolstering U.S. economic engagement. Judd Devermont, a special assistant to the president and the senior director for African affairs on the National Security Council, was one of the chief architects of that new strategy and joins Eric & Cobus from Washington to discuss Africa, China, and of U.S. foreign policy in the region. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander |@jdevermont Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

African Demand for Chinese Surveillance Technology

The China Project — Thu, 01 Jun 2023 14:55:03 +0000

While many countries around the world, particularly G7 states, have largely outlawed the use of Chinese surveillance technology made by companies like Huawei, ZTE, and Hikvision among others, that is not the case in Africa. Dozens of governments across the continent have installed so-called "Smart City" initiatives that use networked camera systems, including some powered by AI. While there are concerns among some civil society groups that Chinese-made surveillance technology will be misused by authoritarian governments, those concerns are often overshadowed by the need for improved security, traffic management, and other benefits promised by Smart City manufacturers. Bulelani Jili, a research fellow at Harvard University and one of the foremost scholars on the use of Chinese technology in Africa, contends that too often in the debate over the deployment of surveillance tech, in particular, outsiders tend to focus more on the supplier rather than the customer. Bulelani joins Eric and Cobus to discuss his latest research on the topic. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @jilibulelani | @christiangeraud Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

[WEEK IN REVIEW] Chinese Hacking in Kenya & DRC President Goes to Beijing

The China Project — Fri, 26 May 2023 14:51:39 +0000

This week CGSP Francophone Editor Geraud Neema joins Eric & Cobus to discuss DR Congo President Félix Tshiskedi's state visit to China which comes at a critical time for the Congolese leader. Tshisekedi is going to pressure his Chinese hosts to renegotiate two massive mining deals but Geraud explains why time may be the president's biggest problem.

Also, Eric & Cobus discuss the latest allegations of Chinese cyber espionage in Africa, this time in Kenya. Reuters reported this week that for the past three years, Chinese hackers penetrated networks in eight Kenyan ministries with the intent to monitor the East African country's debt situation. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @timmerman91 Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

South-South Cooperation in Economically Perilous Times

The China Project — Fri, 19 May 2023 03:28:39 +0000

For 70+ years, development economists have been touting the idea that if lesser developed countries trade and invest collaboratively, it would serve as a pathway out of poverty. But today, the notion of so-called South-South cooperation is facing unprecedented challenges as developing countries confront a series of converging economic, health, and geopolitical crises. But two economists at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) contend that at the dawn of another Great Power rivalry and massive economic uncertainty, Global South countries working together is now more important than ever. Richard Kozul-Wright, director of UNCTAD's globalization and development strategies division, and Alex Izurieta, head of the South-South cooperation unit at UNCTAD, join Eric & Cobus intra-Global South trade provides a critical safety net for some of the world's poorest countries. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

Chinese Merchants Are Disrupting Kenya’s Business Cartels

The China Project — Fri, 12 May 2023 13:26:31 +0000

In the old days, a small group of Kenyan elites dominated the business of importing low-cost products from China that they would then turn around and sell for two or three times the cost. But that once-lucrative business is now under threat from Chinese merchants who sell the same products at a lower price direct to consumers, cutting out those Kenyan middlemen. That tension boiled over earlier this year in Nairobi when Trade Minister Moses Kuria mobilized street protests against a Chinese merchant that ultimately backfired. But now, Chinese expatriates in the country are complaining they're the targets of a backlash. CGSP China Editor Han Zhen and Nairobi-based Climate Editor Njenga Hakeenah join Eric, Cobus, and Geraud to discuss how Chinese merchants are challenging deeply entrenched local business cartels in Kenya and other African countries. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @hakeenah Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

WEEK IN REVIEW: Life & Art Converge With China’s Evacuations From Sudan

The China Project — Fri, 05 May 2023 13:23:28 +0000

PLA Navy warships facilitated China's third major evacuation from a war-ravaged MENA country this week when two vessels ferried more than a thousand Chinese and Pakistani nationals to safety. Chinese state media glorified the evacuations using music and language that echoed recent blockbuster movies about the government's heroism in rescuing stranded Chinese nationals from fictional war-torn North African countries. Plus, Eric, Geraud, and Cobus discuss Kenyan President William Ruto's objection to Africa + 1 summits like FOCAC and how China has become a defining issue in the Senate confirmation battle for Stephanie Sullivan to become the next U.S. ambassador to the African Union. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @christiangeraud Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

Understanding China’s Role in the Developing World Debt Crisis (Part 2)

The China Project — Fri, 28 Apr 2023 13:20:29 +0000

The widely debunked Chinese debt trap narrative re-surfaced again in Washington, D.C. when the top U.S. military commander for Africa General Michael Langley testified before Congress -- highlighting the urgent need for better information about Chinese lending practices in developing countries. In the second of our two-part series this week examining China's role in the burgeoning Global South debt crisis, Eric & Cobus are joined by Shang-Jin Wei, the N. T. Wang professor of Chinese business and economy at Columbia University, and Ishac Diwan, research director at the Finance Development Lab at the Paris School of Economics to discuss Beijing's position in the ongoing negotiations over debt relief for the world's poorest countries. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @ishacdiwan | @findevlab Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

Bright Simons on Africa in the Era of Great Power Competition

The China Project — Fri, 21 Apr 2023 13:16:29 +0000

Many African countries are confronting unprecedented challenges from a convergence of forces far beyond their control. Africans are suffering disproportionately from the effects of climate change, global economic disruption and are being pushed to the middle of yet another Great Power rivalry. The problems facing the continent are big and the solutions need to be even bigger. Ghanaian entrepreneur and public intellectual Bright Simons is applying his extensive background in social science, political economy, and technology to develop new pathways for African policymakers in this uncertain era. Bright joins Eric & Cobus from Accra to discuss his latest thinking on everything from the role of China to artificial intelligence in African development. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @bbsimons Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

The Far-Reaching Consequences of China’s Demand for African Donkeys

The China Project — Fri, 14 Apr 2023 13:14:02 +0000

Elephants, rhinos, and lions usually come to mind first in discussions about the China-Africa animal trade, not donkeys. But surging demand for donkey hides used to manufacture a Chinese traditional medicinal product is having a devastating impact on rural populations across Africa that depend on this essential farm animal. In countries like Kenya, illegal poaching and unregulated slaughterhouses have led to a near-50% plunge in the number of donkeys. Lauren Johnston, a consultant senior researcher at the South African Institute of International Affairs, joins Cobus to discuss her latest research on the topic and why the illicit China-Africa donkey trade is having a disproportionate impact on women in rural African farming communities. SHOW NOTES:

South African Institute of International Affairs: China, Africa, and the Market for Donkeys: Keeping the Cart Behind the Donkey by Lauren Johnston: https://bit.ly/3mykKTW
Nikkei Asia: China must tame its donkey trade for Africa's sake by Lauren Johnston: https://s.nikkei.com/408AXg8
The Standard: Donkey population has gone down by 800,000 by Antony Kitonga: https://bit.ly/4162xMA

JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @lajohnstondr YouTube: www.youtube.com/chinaafricaproject Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

African Leaders Push Back Against Western Media Narratives on China

The China Project — Fri, 07 Apr 2023 13:09:23 +0000

While Vice President Kamala Harris worked hard to keep the focus on U.S.-Africa relations during her recent tour of the continent, reporters in the traveling press corps kept bringing up China -- much to the chagrin of her hosts in Ghana, Tanzania, and Zambia. But unlike previous high-level U.S. visits where African leaders politely side-stepped questions about the U.S.-China rivalry on the continent, this time they went out of their way to challenge the Western narrative about the Chinese presence in their countries. Francophone Editor Geraud Neema joins Eric & Cobus this week to discuss an unprecedented response by senior African officials in Ghana, Nigeria, DR Congo, and Zambia over the Western "obsession" with China. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @christiangeraud YouTube: www.youtube.com/chinaafricaproject Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

China’s Small but Important Role in Ghana’s Debt Crisis

The China Project — Fri, 31 Mar 2023 19:17:48 +0000

China's share of Ghana's $55 billion public debt is quite small at just $1.7 billion or 3% of the total, but Beijing nonetheless plays a critical role in Accra's efforts to revive its economy. The Ghanaian government needs China's support in order to secure an emergency financial package from the International Monetary Fund. While that may sound straightforward, it's not. Zambia is up against a similar challenge and its debt restructuring process has stalled, largely because of a stand-off between China and multilateral creditors over who should take losses on their loans. Isaac Kofi Agyei, a research and data analyst at Joy News -- one of Ghana's leading broadcasters and news outlets -- is closely following all of the developments in this story and joins Eric from Accra to discuss China's role in Ghana's unfolding economic crisis. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @isaackofiagyei Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

CAR Attack Sparks New Concerns About Safety of Chinese People in Africa

The China Project — Fri, 24 Mar 2023 19:15:52 +0000

One week after a brutal attack on a Chinese mining site in the Central African Republic (CAR) that killed nine people and injured two others, it's still not clear who is responsible and why they did it. All Chinese personnel in the country have been ordered to evacuate remote areas and those in the capital Bangui are sheltering in place. Meantime, Chinese embassies in both Nigeria and South Africa issued urgent security warnings to their citizens in those countries to take immediate precautions against the threat of kidnapping and assault. Alessandro Arduino, an affiliate lecturer at King's College London and one of the world's foremost experts on Chinese private security issues, joins Eric, Cobus and Geraud to discuss the recent spate of attacks and whether the uptick in violence against Chinese nationals in Africa and elsewhere is part of a larger trend. SHOW NOTES:

The Conversation: Wagner Group in Africa: Russia’s presence on the continent increasingly relies on mercenaries by Alessandro Arduino: https://bit.ly/3z36SDW
The Conversation: Chinese private security firms are growing their presence in Africa: why it matters by Alessandro Arduino: https://bit.ly/40nhqJA

JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @christiangeraud Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

Reporting Tips for African Journalists Covering China

The China Project — Wed, 22 Mar 2023 19:12:26 +0000

Reporting on China is difficult even for the most experienced journalist who's spent years living there and speaks the language. So, it's not surprising that reporters in Africa who've had limited exposure to the country often struggle to cover China-related news. In this special episode produced in conjunction with the Africa-China Reporting Project (ACRP) at Wits University in Johannesburg, Eric is joined by veteran China Watcher, Kaiser Kuo, founder and host of the popular Sinica podcast, to discuss how African journalists can improve their reporting on China. The interview with Kaiser was recorded during a live online workshop hosted by ACRP Project Coordinator Bongiwe Tutu that included questions from African journalists who participated in the event. SHOW NOTES:

The China Project: Listen to the Sinica podcast: https://bit.ly/3lsspTl
South China Morning Post: How Kaiser Kuo became a leading player in China podcasting and kept on rocking: https://bit.ly/3yXkUGU

JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @kaiserkuo | @sinicapodcast Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

Africa’s Role in China’s Evolving Geopolitical Priorities

The China Project — Fri, 17 Mar 2023 19:10:47 +0000

It's been a momentous past two weeks for Chinese foreign policy with major a breakthrough in the Sri Lanka debt impasse and the landmark announcement that Beijing helped to broker the restoration of ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Meantime, China also reacted strongly to the announcement that Australia plans to purchase nearly $400 billion of nuclear-powered submarines from the U.S. and the UK. In this new, more contentious era of great power rivalries, the question of where Africa fits into China's political priorities is now more relevant than ever. Beijing-based corporate attorney Kai Xue is well-positioned to know. He's been advising Chinese clients for years on Belt & Road projects in Africa and he joins Eric & Cobus to discuss why he thinks the continent is no longer as important to Chinese policymakers as it once was. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CGSP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

China vs. the Multilateral Development Banks

The China Project — Fri, 10 Mar 2023 20:07:59 +0000

There was a major breakthrough this week in China's months-long standoff with the World Bank, IMF, and other multilateral creditors when Beijing agreed to fully back Sri Lanka's debt restructuring. The move now clears the way for Colombo to secure $2.9 billion in emergency IMF funding and to put the South Asian country on the path toward recovery. Now, everyone wants to know whether China will extend a similar offer to Zambia, Ghana, and Ethiopia which are also in the midst of similar debt restructuring talks or will it stick to its hardline position that multilateral lenders must also agree to accept losses on their loans to these countries. Yunnan Chen, a research fellow at the Overseas Development Institute in London, and Gyude Moore, a senior policy fellow at the Center for Global Development in Washington, two of the world's leading experts in this field, join Eric & Cobus to discuss China and the debt crisis in a number of African countries. SHOW NOTES:

Overseas Development Institute: China in the multilateral development banks: evolving strategies of a new power by Yunnan Chen and Chris Humphrey: https://bit.ly/3CR6AiD
Center for Global Development: Will China Play Its Part in Addressing African Debt Distress? by Gyude Moore: https://bit.ly/3ZHbI5u

JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @gyude_moore | @yunnanchen Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

WEEK IN REVIEW: China-IMF Debt Standoff | France’s “New” Africa Strategy | SA Naval Exercises

The China Project — Fri, 03 Mar 2023 20:06:18 +0000

The G20 finance ministers meeting in India came and went without any progress on the debt standoff between China and the IMF/World Bank over who should take losses on loans to the world's poorest countries. Meantime, France announced another "new" strategy to revive its Africa strategy, partially in response to China's growing influence on the continent. CGSP Francophone Editor Geraud Neema joins Eric & Cobus to share his perspective on those stories plus an update on the controversial joint naval exercises that South Africa hosted with China and Russia. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @christiangeraud Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

WEEK IN REVIEW: South Africa: Naval Drills | Ghana: Debt Crisis | DRC: Mining Contracts

The China Project — Fri, 24 Feb 2023 20:03:51 +0000

Controversial joint naval exercises among South Africa, Russia, and China got underway this week off the coast of KwaZulu-Natal, prompting a fierce backlash from critics who blasted Pretoria for legitimizing Russia on the first anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine. Also this week, Ghana's finance minister Ken Ofori-Atta traveled to Beijing hoping to restructure its debt and Chinese mining companies in the DR Congo negotiated a demand for $17 billion of new infrastructure down to just $500 million. Development Reimagined Policy Analyst Ovigwe Eguegu joins Eric, Cobus, and Geraud this week to discuss these stories and the rest of the week's top China-Africa headlines. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @ovigweeguegu | @christiangeraud Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

What the New Port of Lekki in Nigeria Tells Us About the Future of Chinese Infrastructure Finance in Africa

The China Project — Fri, 17 Feb 2023 20:01:28 +0000

China is no longer in the game of providing African countries with enormous loans to finance large-scale infrastructure projects. In fact, BRI financing last year for projects in Africa plunged more than 50% to just $7.5 billion. But that doesn't mean Chinese companies still aren't building big things in Africa. Stella Hong Zhang, a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School's Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation joins Eric & Cobus to discuss her new research on the Port of Lekki in Nigeria and why this venture may hold some important clues about the future of Chinese development financing in Africa and around the world. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @stellahongzhang Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr

It’s Getting Tougher for African Students to Get a PhD in China

The China Project — Fri, 10 Feb 2023 19:59:51 +0000

Thousands of African students are back in class again in China following a three-year absence due to the pandemic and Beijing's strict COVID Zero travel restrictions. But doctoral students from Africa and elsewhere are confronting new challenges in completing their degrees, according to research done by a trio of Oxford University scholars. David Mills, Anding Shi, and Natasha Robinson join Eric, Cobus, and Geraud to discuss how Chinese universities are "moving the goal posts" for doctoral students by introducing new publishing requirements that make it difficult for them to complete their degrees. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @christiangeraud Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

How the U.S. Aims to Compete With China in Critical Resource Mining

The China Project — Tue, 07 Feb 2023 19:13:58 +0000

U.S. officials are speaking out about the urgency to diversify supply chains for critical resources that are now largely dependent on China, particularly rare earths, cobalt, and lithium that are all essential ingredients in manufacturing electric vehicle batteries. It's a hot topic this week at Africa's largest mining conference that's taking place in Cape Town. Although senior U.S. diplomats speaking at the conference haven't actually said the word "China," the "C" word is nonetheless clearly on their minds. CGSP Francophone Editor Christian-Geraud Neema, a leading expert in Congolese mining issues, joins Eric to discuss U.S.-China resource competition in Africa and whether Washington's plan to narrow China's lead will actually work. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @christiangeraud Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

Hannah Ryder on what to expect this year in China-Africa Relations

The China Project — Mon, 16 Jan 2023 11:11:56 +0000

Qin Gang is carrying on a 33-year-old tradition by making Africa the first official visit of the new year for China's foreign minister. Qin took office just two weeks ago and is new to African affairs, so this week's five-nation tour is more about him and his hosts getting to know one another than engaging in substantive policy discussions. But the tour comes at a critical juncture for China's engagement on the continent. Chinese lending to African countries is down, great power competition is up and there's a new foreign policy team in Beijing that appears more focused on the U.S. and Europe than Global South regions including Africa. Hannah Ryder, CEO of the development consultancy Development Reimagined, isn't worried. She joins Eric & Cobus this week to explain why she's optimistic about this year's prospects for Chinese engagement in Africa. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @hmryder Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

The 2022 Africa-China Year in Review With Gyude Moore

The China Project — Fri, 23 Dec 2022 02:38:00 +0000

Chinese trade with Africa is widely expected to break yet another record in 2022, while Chinese lending to countries across the continent fell again. Meantime, African leaders this year also forcefully pushed back against both the U.S. and China to avoid becoming collateral damage in their escalating great power struggle. It was an eventful year indeed for Africa-China relations. Gyude Moore, a senior policy fellow at the Center for Global Development and a prominent African international affairs analyst, joins Eric & Cobus from Washington, D.C. to reflect on the year's key milestones. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @gyude_moore Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

China’s Long Shadow Over the U.S.-Africa Summit

The China Project — Sat, 17 Dec 2022 16:49:39 +0000

The three-day U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit wrapped up in Washington, D.C. on Thursday with a declaration by President Joe Biden that his administration is "all in" when it comes to Africa. The White House worked very hard to change the narrative about its Africa foreign policy, specifically that it's focused on African countries rather than confronting China's growing influence on the continent. This week, Eric, Cobus and Geraud discuss whether the U.S. was successful and what were the main takeaways from this week's summit. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @christiangeraud Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

Worrisome Demographic Trends in China and Africa

The China Project — Fri, 09 Dec 2022 16:54:12 +0000

Africa is home to the world's youngest and fastest-growing population, creating what proponents call a "demographic dividend." Conversely, China is rapidly becoming one of the world's oldest countries thanks in part to decades of draconian family planning policies that limited most families to just one child. Today, the demographic trend lines in both regions are becoming increasingly worrisome, according to Michele Bruni, one of the world's foremost scholars on the issue. Michele, a fellow at the Global Labor Organization and a member of the Research Centre for the Analysis of Public Policies at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia in Italy, joins Eric & Cobus to discuss why Africa's "dividend" is potentially a major liability if governments cannot create enough jobs for their bulging populations and why China is in a desperate race against time to increase labor productivity. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

Why It Isn’t China’s Fault Its Trade With Africa Is so Distorted

The China Project — Fri, 02 Dec 2022 16:57:34 +0000

China is forecast to break another trade record with Africa this year, potentially even crossing the $300 billion barrier. While that sounds great, the big number masks a distorted trading relationship that is mostly concentrated in extractives among a small handful of countries. African countries to date have failed to move up the value chain by processing more of their raw materials prior to export. And that, according to prominent Africa-Asia scholar Jean-Claude Maswana, an economics professor at Ritsumeikan University, is not China's fault. Jean-Claude joins Eric & Cobus from Kyoto, Japan to discuss what African countries need to do if they want a more balanced, equitable trading relationship with China. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @jcmaswana Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

Can China’s Surveillance State Governance Model Be Exported Abroad?

The China Project — Tue, 29 Nov 2022 16:00:09 +0000

China has built the world's largest and most intrusive surveillance system to monitor the behavior of its people. Millions of cameras, vast databases, and sophisticated online filters work together to form a seemingly omnipresent matrix that overwatches every aspect of daily life. While China may have pioneered the use of many of these new technologies, today, they are by no means alone. In fact, Chinese companies are now bringing their technology and surveillance expertise to countries around the world -- particularly in the Global South. Wall Street Journal reporters Liza Lin and Josh Chin, authors of the new book Surveillance State: Inside China's Quest to Launch a New Era of Social Control, join Eric & Cobus to discuss the appeal of China's surveillance technology and how much of Beijing's model can be replicated in other developing countries. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @joshchin | @lizalinwsj Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

U.S.-China Technology Competition in Africa

The China Project — Fri, 25 Nov 2022 16:59:41 +0000

African telecom operators have resolutely opposed U.S. calls to stop using Chinese networking hardware. In fact, Huawei, ZTE, and other Chinese tech firms in recent years have significantly expanded their presence beyond networking to mobile money, data centers, and even new energy solutions, among other sectors. African countries, at least so far, have been spared serious consequences from the increasingly contentious U.S.-Chian technology duel. But Jane Munga, a technology policy expert in the Africa program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, D.C., worries that may soon change. Jane joins Eric & Cobus to discuss her new research on how U.S.-China technology decoupling will impact Africa's mobile phone industry. SHOW NOTES:

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: How Will U.S.-China Tech Decoupling Affect Africa’s Mobile Phone Market? by Jane Munga: https://bit.ly/3AKrim9
The Diplomat: China’s Tech Outreach in the Middle East and North Africa by Dale Aluf: https://bit.ly/3AKruln

JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @jane_munga Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

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

The China Project — Fri, 11 Nov 2022 17:01:49 +0000

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 Africa, Assistant Secretary of State Molly Phee, joins Eric & Cobus for an in-depth discussion on the new strategy and how it's being received by stakeholders across the continent. Also, three prominent African scholars were invited to submit questions on any topic to the Assistant Secretary:

Dr. Tobi Oshodi, lecturer in the department of political science at Lagos State University: @tobioshodi
Dr. Dr Folashadé Soulé, senior research associate at the Global Economic Governance program (Blavatnik School of Government) at Oxford University: @folasoule
Dr. Bob Wekesa, acting director of the U.S.-Africa Centre at Wits University: @bobwekesa

JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

Emerging Trends and Myths in Africa-China Relations: Live From Johannesburg

The China Project — Tue, 08 Nov 2022 17:04:02 +0000

[DISCLAIMER: This special bonus episode was recorded live from a classroom on the campus of Wits University in Johannesburg. Unfortunately, the audio quality isn't great -- it's OK, not great -- but we hope that you'll give the show a chance and listen to what was a very lively and informative discussion] China's relationship with Africa is undergoing profound change in the post-pandemic era. Chinese engagement on the continent has fallen precipitously with a massive drop in people-to-people exchanges, development finance lending, and academic engagement. In this special live episode of the show broadcast from the African Investigative Journalism Conference on the campus of Wits University in Johannesburg, Eric & Cobus explore the emerging trends and new myths in China-Africa relations with a distinguished panel of journalists and analysts:

 Sanusha Naidu, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Global Dialogue
 Geraud Neema, Francophone Editor at The China-Global South Project
 Bongiwe Tutu, Project Coordinator at The Africa-China Reporting Project
 Isak Lam, China-based researcher and journalist
 Sisi Mi, China-based researcher and data journalist

JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @christiangeraud | @sanushanaidu Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

Where Does Africa Fit in Xi Jinping’s New Foreign Policy

The China Project — Fri, 21 Oct 2022 16:06:40 +0000

Chinese President Xi Jinping outlined a more assertive foreign policy vision during his closely-followed address at the 20th Party Congress in Beijing last Sunday. He made it clear that China's new foreign policy priorities will focus primarily on competition with the U.S., Taiwan reunification along with strengthening the country's technological and military capabilities. Notably, the President mentioned the BRI only in passing during the two-hour address to Global South issues, which isn't a huge surprise given this speech is largely focused on domestic issues. CGSP Francophone Editor Geraud Neema joins Eric & Cobus to discuss the speech and what an apparent shift in Chinese foreign policy means for Africa and other developing regions around the world. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @christiangeraud Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

Debt in Africa: Everyone’s Watching What China Does in Zambia

The China Project — Thu, 13 Oct 2022 16:10:05 +0000

The United Nations Development Program issued a new report this week that once again sounded the alarm on the urgent need for debt relief in the world's poorest countries. The UNDP said 54 countries are at risk, with African countries accounting for almost half. Zambia, however, is among a handful of countries that is actually making progress in restructuring its debt. Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane says he's optimistic that a deal can be finalized before the end of the year and China has played a critical role in the process. Bloomberg reporters Tom Hancock and Matthew Hill have been covering the Zambian debt story from Hong Kong and South Africa respectively and join Eric to explain why there's so much global interest in how China responds to this particular crisis. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @mattstephenhill | @hancocktom Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

Africa Again is the Backdrop for a Chinese Blockbuster Movie

The China Project — Sat, 08 Oct 2022 16:12:14 +0000

Home Coming is the latest Chinese blockbuster movie set in Africa that registered big box office returns during its Golden Week opening. The film is set in the fictitious North African country of Numia and tells the story based on the 2011 evacuation of thousands of Chinese nationals from Libya ahead of the civil war. Francophone Editor Geraud Neema joins Eric & Cobus to discuss the role that Africa and Africans play in Chinese blockbusters like Home Coming and its more famous predecessor Wolf Warrior 2. MOVIE TRAILERS DISCUSSED IN THE SHOW:

Home Coming: https://youtu.be/AxEq_LfhMGQ
Operation Red Sea: https://youtu.be/w2dbIXyB5yY
Ebola Fighters: https://youtu.be/qr4ibTPtVIM
Wolf Warrior 2: https://youtu.be/klyyYsmzcNQ
The Blue Defensive Line: https://youtu.be/JZ5TBd0vQt4

What Does Kenya’s SGR Tell Us About the Future of Chinese Railway Development in the Global South

The China Project — Tue, 04 Oct 2022 16:14:18 +0000

The Chinese-financed Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) in Kenya is one of the flagship projects of the Belt and Road Initiative. But the SGR like other Chinese-sponsored railway projects elsewhere in the Global South also serves as a prime example of the risks to developing countries in taking on so much debt. Keren Zhu, a global China post-doctoral researcher at Boston University's Global Development Policy Center, together with two other scholars recently completed a first-of-its-kind study that explores the winners and losers in the Kenyan SGR project. She joins Eric & Cobus to share the findings of their research and what it says about the future of the BRI. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @zhu_keren Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

Nosmot Gbadamosi on US-China Competition in Africa, Debt and “Preventative Infrastructure”

The China Project — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 16:18:06 +0000

Ghanaian Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia commissioned a new road this week built by the Chinese conglomerate Sinohydro and paid for as part of a $2 billion bauxite barter deal with the company. The timing of this new road opening, though, is critical as Ghana grapples with the effects of climate change and a rapidly deteriorating economy. Nosmot Gbadamosi, writer of Foreign Policy's widely-read Africa Brief newsletter, joins Eric & Cobus from Lagos to discuss why this kind of infrastructure that the Chinese built in Ghana in just 13 months is so important for West Africa's ongoing battle against the effects of climate change. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Sign up for Foreign Policy's (free) Africa Brief newsletter: https://bit.ly/3rk65uk Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @nosmotg Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

African Leaders, China Made It Clear This Week They’re Unhappy With the Current International System

The China Project — Fri, 23 Sep 2022 16:20:48 +0000

African leaders one after another took the podium at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) this week to express their deep frustrations with the international system and how unfairly it treats developing countries. “It is time for a fairer, more inclusive global governance that is more adapted to the realities of our time,” declared AU Chair and Senegalese President Macky Sall. Meantime, China sought to lead that change and made a big push on the sidelines of the UNGA for its new Global Development Initiative (GDI) that Beijing hopes will reorient the current international order more in line with its development priorities. Sanusha Naidu, a senior research fellow at the Institute for Global Dialogue in South Africa, closely followed all of the action this week at the UN and joins Eric & Cobus to share her reactions to both the speeches and the GDI. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @sanushanaidu Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

China and the Race to Dominate EV Battery Supply Chains

The China Project — Wed, 14 Sep 2022 16:22:19 +0000

A new movement is underway in the U.S. to strip China out of the global supply chain for electric vehicle batteries -- everything from the extraction of the minerals and metals to the processing of those resources to make the battery packs that power Teslas, Fords and other American-made cars. But it's not going to be easy. Chinese companies have a commanding lead in many parts of that supply chain, particularly cobalt where around 80% of the blue metal is processed in China. Journalist Henry Sanderson laid out the dynamics of this strategically vital international competition in his new book Volt Rush: The Winners and Losers in the Race to Go Green and joins Eric and Cobus to explain how the West and China stack up against one another in the new Battery Age. SHOW NOTES:

Amazon: Volt Rush: The Winners and Losers in the Race to Go Green by Henry Sanderson: https://amzn.to/3LdaF6S
The China Project: What the world needs to know about China’s outsize role in electric car future: Q&A with Henry Sanderson by Jeremy Goldkorn: https://bit.ly/3qzdMw9

JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @hjesanderson Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

Week in Review: Illegal mining in Ghana, US Disillusionment in the DRC & #ChinaAfricaSpaceTalk

The China Project — Fri, 09 Sep 2022 16:25:24 +0000

Aisha Huang, aka the "Galamsey Queen," surprised everyone when she was arrested again for illegal mining in Ghana. What does her arrest say about the government's efforts to combat illicit Chinese mining? Plus, a new report says the U.S. is "disillusioned" with the Congolese government for not doing more to push back against Chinese mining companies. And, African youth in 8 countries get the chance to speak with astronauts aboard the Chinese Space Station. Francophone Editor Christian-Geraud Neema joins Eric & Cobus to discuss the top China-Africa stories of the week plus the latest installment of "Where in the world is Xi Jinping going?" SHOW NOTES:

The China-Global South Project: Why the U.S. Shouldn’t Be Surprised About China’s Close Ties With DRC Mining Companies: https://bit.ly/3qeK7by

Why Zainab Usman is Cautiously Optimistic About the New U.S. Policy For Africa

The China Project — Fri, 02 Sep 2022 16:26:40 +0000

Africa is increasingly becoming a main stage for great power competition. Last week, Japan wrapped up its triennial Africa summit where they threw some shade China's way. A few weeks earlier, the U.S. unveiled a refreshed foreign policy strategy for the continent, and China remains intensely focused on bolstering ties with African governments -- partially as a hedge against heightened U.S. pressure elsewhere. While U.S. officials have said for years that it's important for Washington to focus on Africa and step up its engagement across the board, there's been very little in the way of action. But this time, Zainab Usman, the director of the Africa program at the influential Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, thinks it may be different. Zainab joins Eric and Cobus from Washington to talk about her cautious optimism that the U.S. is now finally ready to step up its engagement in Africa. SHOW NOTES:

Foreign Affairs: How America Can Foster an African Boom by Zainab Usman: https://fam.ag/3cIbQy3
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: The New U.S. Africa Strategy Breaks From the Status Quo—With Some Perplexing Stumbles by Zainab Usman: https://bit.ly/3wPGxIu
Amazon: Economic Diversification in Nigeria: The Politics of Building a Post-Oil Economy by Zainab Usman: https://amzn.to/3CR2Z82

JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @msszeeusman Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

Update on the Chinese Cobalt Stand-off in the DR Congo

The China Project — Fri, 26 Aug 2022 16:30:02 +0000

Tensions between Chinese mining China Moly and the Congolese state-owned mining Gécamines appear to be deteriorating further amid an ongoing stand-off over the massive TFM copper and cobalt mine in the southern DRC. Shipments have reportedly been halted due to a bitter contractual dispute between the two sides, and given this is the world's largest cobalt mine, the impact of this stand-off could be far-reaching. Francophone Editor Christian-Geraud Neema joins Eric to discuss the latest developments in this escalating crisis. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @christiangeraud Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

Africa in the New Era of U.S.-China Great Power Competition

The China Project — Tue, 23 Aug 2022 16:31:53 +0000

Chinese President Xi Jinping is widely expected to soon re-emerge on the global stage after a nearly three-year absence. Where is still unknown, but when it does happen it's going to create a much tenser, more confrontational atmosphere at upcoming summits in Indonesia and Thailand where he'll sit alongside U.S. President Joe Biden and other Western leaders. Eurasia Group Senior Analyst Ali Wyne will be closely following Xi's reemergence. Ali is one of Washington's foremost observers of the burgeoning Sino-U.S. great power rivalry and the author of a new book on the subject "America's Great-Power Opportunity: Revitalizing U.S. Foreign Policy to Meet the Challenges of Strategic Competition." Ali joins Eric & Cobus to discuss the new book and to share his forecast of what to expect in this new, far more contentious era. SHOW NOTES:

Amazon: purchase a copy of "America's Great-Power Opportunity: Revitalizing U.S. Foreign Policy to Meet the Challenges of Strategic Competition": https://amzn.to/3ClRCVq

JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @ali_wyne Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

Week in Review: Kenya elections, Chinese mining woes in DRC & Xi Jinping’s travels

The China Project — Fri, 12 Aug 2022 16:33:15 +0000

Kenya's got a new president who has vowed to get tough on the Chinese, particularly when it comes to publishing contracts and cracking down on illegal immigration. Plus, Chinese mining giant CMOC is encountering new difficulties at its massive cobalt mine in the southern DRC. Eric & Cobus break down some of the week's top China-Africa stories and discuss where in the world is Xi Jinping going. SHOW NOTES:

Wang Cheng, Chinese Ministry of Commerce: twitter.com/SadiqChengWang

Afrobarometer CEO Joseph Asunka on Public Perceptions of the U.S. & China in Africa

The China Project — Wed, 10 Aug 2022 16:35:11 +0000

When U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken unveiled the White House's new strategy for Sub-Saharan Africa, he referenced Afrobarometer polling data to validate Washington's renewed emphasis on democracy promotion. The following day, in criticizing the new U.S. policy towards Africa, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin also used Afrobarometer data to make the case for Beijing's engagement strategy on the continent. What's interesting is that they're both right. The Afrobarometer polling data undermines the simple narratives that too often frame the discourse about how Africans view their ties with these two powers. Afrobarometer CEO Joseph Asunka joins Eric & Cobus to discuss what's behind these seemingly contradictory perspectives and which direction public opinion towards the U.S. and China is trending. SHOW NOTES:

Afrobarometer: Africans welcome China’s influence but maintain democratic aspirations: https://bit.ly/3Ac39Ft
Afrobarometer: China has invested deeply in Africa. We checked to see whether that is undermining democracy: https://bit.ly/3vSjNr2

JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @joeasunka Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

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

The China Project — Fri, 05 Aug 2022 16:37:26 +0000

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, who have repeatedly said they want to stay out of the U.S.-China standoff, decided to weigh in on this controversy. Plus, a preview of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's upcoming Africa tour and what a Tesla battery deal with Chinese suppliers reveals the realities facing the U.S. and other governments that want to get China out of their strategic supply chains. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @christiangeraud Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

African Exploitation Videos Are Big Business on Chinese Social Media

The China Project — Fri, 29 Jul 2022 16:39:12 +0000

The recent BBC documentary "Racism for Sale" pointed a powerful spotlight on the popular Chinese "blessing video" business that is both highly exploitative and very profitable. These videos feature Africans and people from other developing regions, often including children, conveying messages that are often demeaning. In the weeks following the release of the documentary, most of the attention on this issue was focused on culprit, a 26-year Chinese man by the name of Lu Ke, and people's shock in Malawi and other African countries where these videos were filmed. But Viola Zhou, a Hong Kong-based reporter for the online technology magazine Rest of World, looked into the business behind these videos and how the social media platforms, advertisers, and content creators are all making huge profits. SHOW NOTES:

Watch Racism for Sale on the BBC's YouTube channel.
Read Viola Zhou's report: Racist videos about Africans fuel a multimillion-dollar Chinese industry

JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @violazhouyi Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

China’s discourse power in Africa and the Global South

The China Project — Thu, 14 Jul 2022 21:16:46 +0000

China, like all major governments, uses a variety of tools and methods to influence international public opinion. Some, like CGTN, China Daily, and China Radio International, serve as conventional propaganda that is easy to identify; other tactics are far more subtle yet often very effective in shaping the global conversation about China and its role in the world. This so-called "discourse power" is now an important field of study. Kenton Thibaut, a China fellow at the Atlantic Council, and Tuvia Gering, also a fellow at the Atlantic Council and a research fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, join us to talk about their latest research on the issue that explores not only how Chinese interests are communicating but also what they're saying. SHOW NOTES:

The Atlantic Council: China's Discourse Power Operations in the Global South by Kenton Thibaut: https://bit.ly/3Odnhuq
The Discourse Power newsletter by Tuvia Gering: https://tuviagering.substack.com

JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @geringtuvia | Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

It was a bad, very bad week for Chinese mining in Africa

The China Project — Thu, 07 Jul 2022 19:51:34 +0000

Two of China’s largest and most important mining ventures in Africa encountered major problems this week. In Guinea, the government shut down the Sino-Australian joint venture to operate the massive Simandou iron ore mine, a major blow to Beijing’s ambitions to end its reliance on imported Australian ore. And then in the DRC, authorities reportedly issued a notice to the Chinese management that runs the massive TFM copper/cobalt mine to halt extraction and production. Francophone Editor and leading African mining expert Geraud Neema joins Eric & Cobus to discuss the significance of these two events and why the governments in both Conakry and Kinshasa are taking action against the Chinese. Show Notes:

Reuters: Guinea halts Simandou iron ore project, mulls talks with new partners by Saliou Samb
Reuters: Congo administrator orders China’s CMOC to stop exports from Tenke cobalt mine by Aaron Ross
Projet Afrique Chine: Update on the state of Sino-Congolese relations: Interview by Geraud Neema (in French)

A discussion with the journalists behind the BBC doc “Racism For Sale”

The China Project — Fri, 01 Jul 2022 20:08:15 +0000

A Discussion With the Journalists Behind the BBC Doc "Racism For Sale"

The BBC investigative unit Africa Eye turned a powerful spotlight last month on a multi-million dollar business in China that exploits people in developing regions, including young children in Africa, to produce so-called "blessing videos." Many of these videos may seem innocuous where Africans hold up signs in Chinese to wish people good luck on a test or sign happy birthday, for example. But many others are highly exploitative and downright demeaning. Journalists Runako Celina and Henry Mhango led an investigation into the origins of one particularly offensive video that was shot in Malawi that revealed how a Chinese producer took advantage of dozens of poor children in a remote village. Runako and Henry join Eric & Cobus to discuss the investigation and what it took to report this fascinating story. SHOW NOTES:

Watch: Racism for Sale: https://bit.ly/3OBVo0f
Read: Racism for Sale: Documentary investigates how language, culture used to exploit children in Africa: https://bit.ly/3I2sK5Y
Blacklivity China: https://blacklivitychina.com/
Citizen Eye Malawi: https://bit.ly/3a1oDup

JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @runakocelina | @henrymhango3 Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

How did China do in its first Horn of Africa Peace Conference?

The China Project — Sat, 25 Jun 2022 20:17:01 +0000

China’s Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, Xue Bing, wrapped up a two-day peace conference in Addis Ababa last week, Beijing’s first-ever effort to mediate conflicts outside of Asia. Xue personally offered to serve as a broker to help resolve many of the ongoing tensions that currently roil the region. Superficially, all of the participants responded favorably to China’s efforts but the real test will come in the months ahead to see if Beijing can match its promises with tangible results. Aly Verjee, a non-resident senior advisor at the United States Institute of Peace, is a leading expert in the politics of the Horn of Africa. He joins Cobus to share his impressions of China’s performance at the conference and whether he thinks Beijing has what it takes to help mediate the region’s various conflicts. Show Notes:

Associated Press: China’s 1st Horn of Africa envoy offers to mediate in region
Wall Street Journal: China Seeks to Expand Africa Trade Dominance With Role as Peace Mediator by Nicholas Bariyo and Chun Han Wong
South China Morning Post: As China-Horn of Africa Peace Conference ends, Beijing’s envoy offers to play regional security role by Jevans Nyabiage

About Aly Verjee: Aly Verjee is a nonresident senior advisor to the Africa program at the U. S. Institute of Peace and was formerly a visiting expert at USIP. While a visiting expert at USIP, he led research efforts in the Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Sudan. In 2019, he received the Oslo Forum PeaceWriter Prize “for bold and innovative responses to today’s peacemaking challenges,” for his work on reforming and innovating cease-fire monitoring. Prior to joining USIP, he was deputy and then acting chief of staff of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission, overseeing the implementation of the 2015 peace agreement in South Sudan. From 2014-2015, he was senior advisor to the chief mediator of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development-led peace process for South Sudan.

A conversation with Huang Ping, China’s Consul General in New York

The China Project — Thu, 16 Jun 2022 20:22:19 +0000

China’s Consul General in New York City, Huang Ping, is a veteran diplomat with extensive experience in both North America and Africa. Prior to taking on the CG role in NYC, Huang was ambassador to Zimbabwe from 2015 to 2018. Huang recently sat down with Eric & Cobus for a wide-ranging conversation on the state of U.S.-China relations, human rights issues, and reflections on his time in Harare. Francophone Editor Geraud Neema also joins the discussion for analysis on the key issues raised in this week’s discussion. About Huang Ping: Huang Ping assumed duties as Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in New York in November 2018. Prior to his current appointment, he served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Zimbabwe from 2015 to 2018. In that role, he kept China-Zimbabwe relations steady and elevate the bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership. This is Huang’s fourth appointment in North America and his second appointment as Consul General in the United States. He previously served as Consul General of China in Chicago from 2007 to 2010 and Counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Canada from 1999 to 2002. In 1988, he began his foreign appointment as an attaché and third secretary at the Chinese Embassy in Washington D.C. Huang began his diplomatic career in 1983 as a clerk at the Treaty and Law Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of China, and Subsequently, as a member of the Central Government Lecture Group to teach in Hubei Province. After his tenure in Washington D.C., he returned to China to work as Deputy Division Director and then Division Director at the Consular Affairs Department in MFA. When he came back from Canada, he served as the Deputy Mayor of Shaoxing City in Zhejiang Province until 2004. He returned to Foreign Ministry’s Consular Affairs Department, serving as its Deputy Director General and then Director-General. In that post, he played an important role in facilitating the 10-year multiple-entry visa agreement between China and U.S. and setting up the Global Emergency Call Center of Consular Protection and Services for Chinese citizens. He established China’s first Consular Service Website, compiled the book China Consular Affairs, and oversaw the evacuation of Chinese citizens from Libya and Yemen, and handled the MH370 Incident.

Africa in the era of great power competition

The China Project — Fri, 10 Jun 2022 20:28:34 +0000

Policymakers in most African countries are facing unimaginable challenges brought on by the pandemic, economic disruption, climate change, and the impact of the war in Ukraine. As if that wasn't enough, the increasingly contentious U.S.-China conflict adds even more uncertainty. While these are difficult times, particularly for smaller states on the continent, geopolitical analyst Ronak Golpadas, a director at the South African risk management firm Signal Risk, says there's one thing in particular that African governments can do to bolster themselves in these turbulent times. He joins Eric & Cobus from Johannesburg to discuss the urgent imperative for states to work together and negotiate as blocks. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @ronakgolpadas Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

The politics of Chinese-financed infrastructure development in East Africa

The China Project — Fri, 03 Jun 2022 20:34:58 +0000

How African governments negotiate infrastructure deals with Chinese lenders and construction companies is far more complex than many assume. While most focus on the role of the head of state, the reality is that the leader is just one of many actors that has a say in the process. A trio of scholars recently published an in-depth analysis that explores the internal political dynamics for three high-profile Chinese infrastructure projects in East Africa including the Bagamoyo Port in Tanzania, the Adama wind farm in Ethiopia, and the Port of Lamu expansion in Kenya. Frangton Chiyemura from The Open University, Elisa Gambino from LSE, and Tim Zajontz from the University of Freiburg in Germany join Eric & Cobus to discuss their research and why it's so important to understand the particular attributes of African agency in this process. SHOW NOTES: Chinese Political Science Review: Infrastructure and the Politics of African State Agency: Shaping the Belt and Road Initiative in East Africa: https://bit.ly/3airYF4 JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @fchemura | @tzajontz | @drelisagambino Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

U.S.-China tech competition in the Middle East

The China Project — Fri, 27 May 2022 20:44:46 +0000

While U.S. President Joe Biden is stepping up his efforts to confront China's dominance in the Asia-Pacific, he might also want to pay attention to what's happening in the Middle East. Chinese influence in the Mideast and Persian Gulf regions has been steadily rising over the two years, particularly in the tech sector where firms like Huawei, ZTE, and Hikvision among others are rapidly expanding. In fact, China is so far ahead, according to Mohammed Soliman, a non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C., that unless the U.S. radically changes its policy, it may be too late to catch up. Mohammed joins Eric & Cobus to discuss his urgent warning for U.S. policymakers about China's growing technology dominance in the Middle East and what they need to do to meet the challenge. Show Notes:

The National Interest: China Is Winning the Middle East’s Data, Cyber, and Technology Race by Mohammed Soliman: https://bit.ly/3MVCIYi
Middle East Institute: The GCC, US-China tech war, and the next 5G storm by Mohammed Soliman

JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @thisissoliman Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

An update on China-Kenya ties with journalist Eliud Kibii

The China Project — Fri, 11 Mar 2022 20:26:28 +0000

China's ambassador to Kenya Zhou Pingjian sat down with a local reporter Eliud Kibii from The Star newspaper earlier this month for a rare one-on-one interview. Chinese diplomats tend to be quite media shy so it's news whenever they do speak in unscripted environments with the press. Eliud joins Eric & Cobus from Nairobi to discuss his exchange with the ambassador and to get an update on the current state of Sino-Kenyan ties. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: CAP on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Twitter: @ChinaAfrProject | @stadenesque | @eliudkibii JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff including our Week in Review report, invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

China Exim Bank’s controversial loan to expand Uganda’s Entebbe airport

The China Project — Thu, 03 Mar 2022 20:19:55 +0000

New research from AidData at the College of William & Mary in the United States provides the first insight into the loan contract between China Exim Bank and the Ugandan government for the expansion of the Entebbe International Airport. This is the same airport at the center of an almost year-long controversy over whether China would seize the facility due to a loan default. That allegation is, of course, not true and the contract confirms that the airport was never in jeopardy of being surrendered to China Exim Bank. But what researchers did find is a deal that was heavily weighted in favor of the lender with some very intrusive clauses. AidData Executive Director Brad Park joins Eric & Cobus from Williamsburg, Virginia in the U.S. to discuss his team's findings after carefully reviewing an unredacted version of the loan contract. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: CAP on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Twitter: @ChinaAfrProject | @stadenesque | @aiddata AidData Report on the Chinese Loan Contract for the Entebbe Airport Expansion Project: https://bit.ly/35BQiiE JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff including our Week in Review report, invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

U.S., European tech competition with China in Africa

The China Project — Fri, 25 Feb 2022 20:14:47 +0000

Challenging China's dominance in Africa's tech sector was one of the key takeaways from this month's Europe-Africa summit and a key component of the EU's Global Gateway infrastructure agenda. But it's not going to be easy given the enormous breadth of Chinese technology engagement in Africa that goes back decades. Western governments are going to find it even more difficult to compete in this market given the rapid expansion of Chinese corporate activity in Africa's digital sector. University of Tampere researcher Motolani Agbebi mapped out the scope of that challenge in a new paper published in February on the Council on Foreign Relations website that details Africa's role in China's Digital Silk Road agenda. She joins Eric & Cobus to discuss her findings and explain what she thinks African stakeholders need to do to best take advantage of the brewing geopolitical tech rivalry. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: CAP on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Twitter: @ChinaAfrProject | @stadenesque | @motolani_agbebi Motolani's Paper: China’s Digital Silk Road and Africa’s Technological Future -- https://on.cfr.org/36FJvoU JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff including our Week in Review report, invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

Chinese demand for illegal rosewood leads to deforestation in Cameroon

The China Project — Fri, 18 Feb 2022 20:05:25 +0000

Cameroon is just one of a growing number of African countries that is facing a deforestation crisis due in part to the trade in illegal Rosewood. Large organized crime syndicates are felling vast numbers of these prized trees, smuggling them across the border to Nigeria where they are laundered and sent mostly to buyers in China. It's widely known in the industry that most African Rosewood is illegally harvested yet that doesn't discourage Chinese buyers as they look the other way -- which is a blatant violation of the 2019 forestry law. Investigative journalist Christian Locka went into the bush to report how Rosewood timber makes its way from Cameroon's forests, over the border to Nigeria, and is then laundered for export to China. Christian joins Eric & Cobus from Douala in Cameroon to explain more about this lucrative trade and why so little is being done to stop it. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: CAP on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Twitter: @ChinaAfrProject | @stadenesque Contact The Museba Project: www.themusebaproject.org JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff including our Week in Review report, invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

Chinese corporate communications in Africa

The China Project — Fri, 11 Feb 2022 20:00:57 +0000

Over the years, Chinese companies in Africa have earned a reputation for not very being good in how they communicate with local stakeholders, particularly with local media and civil society groups. While that remains true for the large state-owned construction and mining companies, it's definitely not the case for a growing number of consumer-facing private companies that now employ sophisticated corporate messaging strategies. The Paris-based, Africa-focused strategic communications agency 35° Nord works with Chinese corporate clients on the continent, both private and SOEs, on public relations, social media outreach as well as crisis communications. Claire Xue, head of the China desk at 35° Nord and consultant Anna An join Eric & Cobus to discuss how Chinese corporate communications in Africa are evolving. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: CAP on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Twitter: @ChinaAfrProject | @stadenesque JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff including our Week in Review report, invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

The future of Chinese infrastructure finance in Africa

The China Project — Thu, 03 Feb 2022 19:56:51 +0000

Nigerian Transportation Minister Rotimi Amaechi acknowledged this week that he will no longer rely on China to fund two major railways and will have now have to look elsewhere for the money. The minister's comments shouldn't come as a big surprise, though, given the plunge in overseas development lending by China's two major policy banks in recent years. China is now largely out of the business of loaning large amounts of money to build major infrastructure projects in Africa and is instead focusing on smaller, more targeted initiatives in the health, digital, power and green energy sectors that have clearer path to profitability. Abuja-based Development Reimagined Policy Analyst Ovigwe Eguegu closely follows Chinese development finance trends in Africa and joins Eric & Cobus from Addis Ababa to discuss what appears to be a new era of China's economic engagement on the continent. SHOW NOTES:

The China Africa Project: Q&A: Nigerian Representative Ben Igbakpa Explains Why He Wants to Investigate 20 Years of Chinese Loans by Ovigwe Eguegu -- https://bit.ly/3L9hMMV
The Hoover Institution at Stanford University: Comments by Jendayi Fraser and Reuben Lifuka on China's sharp rise in Africa -- https://youtu.be/HfWEMM1eLMc
Network 20/20: Comments by Gyude Moore and Jennifer Hillman on Beijing’s Expanding Economic Orbit: Evaluating China’s Belt and Road Initiative -- https://youtu.be/5aMxyz9mULc
Spice FM: Comments by Kenya ICT Minister Joe Mucheru on the SGR contract: https://youtu.be/94-E_kVixwU

JOIN THE DISCUSSION: CAP on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Twitter: @ChinaAfrProject | @stadenesque | @ovigweeguegu | @devreimagined JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff including our Week in Review report, invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

An update on Chinese diplomacy in the Middle East with Jonathan Fulton

The China Project — Fri, 28 Jan 2022 19:52:42 +0000

It's been a frenetic start of the year in Chinese diplomacy in the Middle East. Right after he returned from a five-nation tour of Indian Ocean states, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi hosted half a dozen foreign ministers from Persian Gulf states, Turkey, and the Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Separately, China is also playing an active role in the ongoing Iran nuclear talks. Now that China is the Persian Gulf's largest energy customer, Beijing has a lot at stake an ensuring the region remains stable. Jonathan Fulton is one of the world's foremost scholars on Sino-Mideast affairs and has been closely Beijing's presence in the region for more than a decade. He joins Eric & Cobus from Abu Dhabi where he's an assistant professor at Zayed University to discuss the latest diplomatic developments and his new book on the topic. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: CAP on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Twitter: @ChinaAfrProject | @stadenesque | @jonathandfulton JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff including our Week in Review report, invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

How China’s economic and security interests converge in Africa

The China Project — Fri, 21 Jan 2022 19:46:40 +0000

China-Africa trade smashed a new record in 2021 and surpassed $250 billion. This was a dramatic increase over the $187 billion that the two sides the previous year. But those enhanced trade ties come as security conditions worsen for Chinese stakeholders in a growing number of Africa countries, namely Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Paul Nantulya, a research associate at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies in Washington, D.C. is closely following both trends and joins Eric & Cobus to discuss how China's security and economic interests in Africa are now converging in new ways. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: CAP on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Twitter: @ChinaAfrProject | @stadenesque | @pnantulya | @africaacss JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff including our Week in Review report, invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

Investigating Chinese corruption in the DRC linked to the “deal of the century”

The China Project — Fri, 14 Jan 2022 19:33:26 +0000

China's role in the landmark Congo-Hold Up corruption scandal was relatively small compared to those of other actors that were found to have funneled millions of dollars to former Congolese president Joseph Kabila and his associates. Nonetheless, investigators found that Chinese entities were responsible for at least $55 million in illicit payments connected to the $6 billion Sicomines resource-for-infrastructure deal back in 2007. The Washington, D.C.-based NGO The Sentry was among the lead organizations in the Congo Hold-Up investigation that was based on an unprecedented leak of 3.5 million documents from BGFIBank in Gabon. Two of The Sentry's lead investigators involved with the project, John Dell'Osso and Douglas Gillison join Eric & Cobus to discuss how Chinese companies were implicated in the scandal and the specific role of one man in particular. SHOW NOTES:

Read The Sentry's full report: State Capture and Bribery in Congo's Deal of the Century -- https://bit.ly/31W74Ys
Photo of Sun Ruiwen, president of China Molybdenum, meeting together with DR Congo President Félix Tshisekedi on December 23, 2021: https://bit.ly/3GvQ9eg

JOIN THE DISCUSSION: CAP on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Twitter: @ChinaAfrProject | @stadenesque | @douglasgillison | @j_dellosso JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff including our Week in Review report, invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

Taking stock of Wang Yi’s tour of East Africa & Indian Ocean states

The China Project — Tue, 11 Jan 2022 19:42:52 +0000

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is back in Beijing after wrapping up the customary first overseas trip of the year that always begins in Africa. Wang spent almost a week visiting five nations in East Africa and throughout the Indian Ocean where debt, infrastructure and great power rivalry with the U.S. were among the key issues on the agenda. University of Nairobi political science lecturer Oscar Otele closely followed Wang's tour and joins Eric & Cobus to discuss the key highlights, particularly during the Foreign Minister's stop in Kenya. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: CAP on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Twitter: @ChinaAfrProject | @stadenesque JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff including our Week in Review report, invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

Why South Africa remains China’s most important relationship in Africa

The China Project — Fri, 07 Jan 2022 19:26:49 +0000

There was a flurry of Chinese diplomatic activity in Africa this week with Foreign Minister Wang Yi's first overseas trip of the year who went to Eritrea, Kenya, and the Comoros Islands. While eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean are becoming increasingly strategic theaters for Chinese engagement on the continent, in many ways they're still secondary to South Africa's overall importance. South Africa is the main gateway for the bulk of Chinese mineral imports from Africa, it's home to the largest ethnic Chinese population on the continent and serves as an important ideological ally through close ties between the Chinese Communist Party and the ruling African National Congress. Howard University Africa Studies Lecturer Phiwokuhle Mnyandu is among the foremost experts on Sino-SA ties and the author of a recently published book on the topic. Phiowkuhle joins Eric & Cobus from Washington, D.C. to explain why South Africa remains firmly atop Beijing's strategic priorities in Africa. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: CAP on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Twitter: @ChinaAfrProject | @stadenesque | @phiwomnyandu JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff including our Week in Review report, invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

Chinese involvement in the “Congo Hold-Up” corruption scandal

The China Project — Fri, 17 Dec 2021 19:16:51 +0000

19 media outlets together with five NGOs in the U.S. and Europe pored through 3.5 million leaked documents from a Gabonese bank to produce Congo Hold-Up, a landmark report that detailed breathtaking corruption in the DR Congo during the presidency of Joseph Kabila in the early 2000s. Chinese entities, including the joint venture mining company Sicomines, were implicated in the findings (although Sicomines denies any allegation of corruption), specifically relating to the dealings of one man, Du Wei. William Clowes and Michael Kavanagh, two senior journalists at Bloomberg News with extensive experience reporting in the DR Congo, were among the journalists who participated in the investigation. They spent six months working on the project and traced the activities of Du and the role he played as a middleman between Chinese corporate actors and power brokers in Kinshasa. William and Michael join Eric & Cobus to discuss their reporting as part of the Congo Hold-Up investigation and the small role that Chinese entities played in this multimillion-dollar corruption scandal. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: CAP on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Twitter: @eolander | @stadenesque | @mjkcongo | @wtbclowes JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff including our Week in Review report, invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

DOUBLE EPISODE: Andy Mok reflects on FOCAC plus a discussion about bad China-Africa journalism

The China Project — Wed, 15 Dec 2021 19:11:40 +0000

With the end of the year fast approaching and time running out to get everything into the last remaining shows of the season, we're bringing you a special double episode this week. First, join us for an in-depth discussion with Andy Mok, a senior research fellow at the Center for China and Globalization in Beijing for a Chinese perspective on the recent FOCAC conference plus his insights on how African countries should best manage the increasingly acrimonious great power rivalry between the U.S. and China. Then, we'll delve into the recent stories related to the supposed Chinese seizure of Uganda's international airport, UK allegations of Chinese debt traps, and the Pentagon's assertion the PLA wants to build an Atlantic base in Africa and why all of these stories have been so poorly reported by so many international news organizations. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: CAP on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Twitter: @eolander | @stadenesque @andymok JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff including our Week in Review report, invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

With China on the sidelines, what’s next for African infrastructure financing?

The China Project — Fri, 10 Dec 2021 18:32:51 +0000

For much of the past two decades, China was among the largest sources of African infrastructure financing. But that is no longer the case. In his recent keynote address at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation conference in Senegal, Chinese President Xi Jinping never mentioned the world infrastructure and the topic was largely absent from the final declaration. The timing of China's withdrawal from the space couldn't be worse as the demand for new roads, power, and railways across the continent steadily rise. But Johnson Kilangi, founder and CEO of the infrastructure consultancy Lean Africa Consultants Limited, is nonetheless optimistic that new financing models will help to fill the gap. Johnsnon joins Eric & Cobus from Nairobi to discuss why he thinks more private sector participation is going to make the difference. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: CAP on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Twitter: @eolander | @stadenesque @johnsonkilangi JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff including our Week in Review report, invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

Why the era of low-cost imports from China may be coming to an end in Africa

The China Project — Tue, 07 Dec 2021 18:20:16 +0000

The ongoing supply chain disruptions are having a profound impact on the types of goods that consumers in Africa and other Global South countries can access. It used to cost just $1,000 a container to ship low-cost socks, shoes, electronics, and other goods that once flooded African markets. Today, the shipping cost for that same container is now $8,000 and rising -- making it possible to send only high-value goods from China that can offset those surging shipping costs. Walter Ruigu, managing director of CAMAL Group Ltd, says once the supply chain goes back to normal those costs will come down again but no one knows for sure when that will happen. And in the meantime, he warns, the consumer will pay the price. Walter joins Eric & Cobus from Beijing to discuss the latest trends in China-Africa trade and he also shares his take on the latest FOCAC conference that recently wrapped up in Senegal. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: CAP on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Twitter: @eolander | @stadenesque SHOW NOTES:

Contact Walter Ruigi at CAMAL Group Ltd.: https://camaltd.com/contact-us/
Business Daily: How I built Kenya’s first phone USB cable firm: https://bit.ly/3pCA5jN

JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff including our Week in Review report, invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

FOCAC 8 recap & review

The China Project — Fri, 03 Dec 2021 18:13:47 +0000

The eighth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation conference wrapped up this week in Senegal. The event itself generated a lot of news but it was far from the only thing going on this week. The Europeans sought to try and upstage FOCAC with their new Global Gateway infrastructure initiative that they revealed on the last day of the Dakar forum, plus Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi made an unannounced trip to Ethiopia and a controversy over the Entebbe International Airport in Uganda hung over FOCAC. Eric & Cobus try to make sense of what was an incredibly busy and important week. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: CAP on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Twitter: @eolander | @stadenesque JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff including our Week in Review report, invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

China’s growing role in multilateral development banks

The China Project — Thu, 25 Nov 2021 18:10:10 +0000

While China has dramatically curtailed its bilateral development financing in Africa and other regions around the world, Beijing is increasing its engagement in multilateral and regional development banks around the world, including the African Development Bank among others. This points to an important, yet little understood trend about China's growing influence in international financial institutions. Two reports have come out recently, one from the Center for Global Development and the other from the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), that explore China's role in these multilateral institutions. Yunnan Chen, a senior research officer at ODI and a co-author of the ODI analysis on the issue, joins Eric & Cobus to discuss how Beijing is turning to these institutions "to pursue its geopolitical agenda and to promote alternate norms of global governance." SHOW NOTES:

Overseas Development Institute: China in the multilateral development banks: evolving strategies of a new power by Yunnan Chen and Chris Humphrey: https://bit.ly/3CR6AiD
Center for Global Development: Mapping China’s Rise in the Multilateral System by Scott Morris, Rowan Rockafellow and Sarah Rose: https://bit.ly/3nSogWX

WEBINAR: TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 30TH AT 14:00GMT: China's role in the multilateral development banks -- RSVP: https://bit.ly/3nSosp9 JOIN THE DISCUSSION: CAP on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Twitter: @eolander | @stadenesque | @yunnanchen JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff including our Week in Review report, invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

FOCAC 8 preview: the trade agenda

The China Project — Tue, 23 Nov 2021 17:59:56 +0000

Trade issues are widely expected to top the agenda at next week's Forum on China-Africa Cooperation ministerial conference in Dakar. African countries will be looking for China to further widen its market to agricultural and processed raw materials and China is seeking ways to reduce the gaping trade surpluses that it currently maintains with most countries across the continent. Yike Fu, a research and policy analyst at Development Reimagined based in Hangzhou, and Patrick Anam, a trade lawyer and also a policy analyst at Development Reimagined, both closely follow the latest China-Africa trade trends and join Eric & Cobus to share their outlook for what to expect at FOCAC. SHOW NOTES:

SAIIA: Mapping the Future of China–Africa Relations: How the Continent can Benefit by Yike Fu and Ovigwe Eguegu
SAIIA: China’s BRI and the AfCFTA: Potential Overlaps, Complementarities and Challenges by Yike Fu and Ovigwe Eguegu
Development Reimagined: From China-Africa to Africa-China: A Blueprint for a Green and Inclusive Continent-wide Africa Strategy Towards China

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FOCAC 8 preview: the economic agenda

The China Project — Fri, 19 Nov 2021 18:52:39 +0000

This year's Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) conference will take place amid considerable uncertainty in the global economy and profound economic changes underway in China. As such, it's widely expected that the outputs from the upcoming forum will be very different from previous FOCACs. Gone will be the large mega-loans to build massive infrastructure projects across the continent and instead, observers expect a series of smaller, more targeted initiatives centered on new priorities in digital, health, and green energy development. Many of those forecasts of what to expect in Dakar were outlined in a recent collection of articles published by the LSE IDEAS China Foresight team at the London School of Economics "FOCAC at 21: Future Trajectories of China-Africa Relations." Stephen Paduano, executive director of the LSE Economic Diplomacy Commission, and Mzukisi Qobo, head of the Wits School of Governance at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, both contributed to the LSE report and join Eric & Cobus to discuss the key economic issues that will frame this year's FOCAC conference. SHOW NOTES:

LSE IDEAS China Foresight: FOCAC at 21: Future Trajectories of China-Africa Relations: https://bit.ly/3m04jg2
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN: The Political Economy of China-US Relations - Digital Futures and African Agency by Mzukisi Qobo: https://bit.ly/3p0uPGz

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Why pragmatism, not ideology drives Chinese economic engagement in Africa

The China Project — Wed, 17 Nov 2021 18:49:15 +0000

In these contentious times, China is often accused of exporting its statist economic model to Africa and other developing regions as part of a broader ideological agenda to create a new Sinocentric international order. But Tsinghua University Professor Tang Xiaoyang argues in his new book published earlier this year that interpretation is a gross misunderstanding of what actually motivates Chinese economic engagement on the continent. Professor Tang joins Eric & Cobus from Beijing to make the case why pragmatism, not ideology is the driving force behind China's economic agenda in Africa. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: CAP on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Twitter: @eolander | @stadenesque | JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff including our Week in Review report, invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

What does the U.S. need to do to effectively compete with China’s Digital Silk Road?

The China Project — Fri, 12 Nov 2021 18:45:36 +0000

Technology is expected to be one of the main pillars of discussion at the upcoming Forum on China-Africa Cooperation conference that will take place in Dakar at the end of the month. And the stakes for both sides are very high. With its access to markets in the Global North contracting as more governments impose barriers on Chinese technology products and services, Beijing will need to lean more on its already sizable presence in developing regions like Africa. Similarly, African governments are also looking to China to continue to provide affordable technology that can be quickly installed using low-interest state-backed loans. Jonathan Hillman, a senior fellow in the economics program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. outlined the key forces behind these trends in his new book about China's Digital Silk Road and what he thinks the U.S. government needs to do to respond to the challenge. SHOW NOTES:

Amazon.com: purchase a Kindle or audio version of The Digital Silk Road: China's Quest to Wire the World and Win the Future by Jonathan E. Hillman: https://amzn.to/3C2Ry9e
Foreign Affairs: Huawei Strikes Back - To Beat China on Tech, America Must Invest in the Developing World by Jonathan Hillman: https://fam.ag/3Calws3
Field Notes: subscribe to Jonathan Hillman's monthly email newsletter about Chinese projects and geoeconomics: https://hillman.substack.com/

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Why perceptions of China vary so much depending on where you live

The China Project — Fri, 05 Nov 2021 17:42:56 +0000

[PLEASE NOTE THAT FROM TIME TO TIME THERE IS SOME AUDIO STATIC THAT APPEARS INTERMITTENTLY DURING SOME OF JOANNA'S ANSWERS. IT DOESN'T LAST LONG AND WE TRIED TO MINIMIZE IT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. OUR APOLOGIES FOR THE INCONVENIENCE.] Public perceptions of China vary markedly depending on where you live in the world. In wealthy advanced economies in the Global North, negative sentiment towards China is now at all-time highs and getting worse. But it's a very different story in many developing countries in the Global South, particularly in Africa, where public opinion surveys continually report more favorable views towards the Chinese. Of course, this is a complex issue where China provokes a diversity of opinions, making it nearly impossible to get a definitive sense of what people feel about Beijing's growing influence in their countries. Veteran journalist Joanna Chiu set out on a trans-continental odyssey to try and find out more about how people in Western countries perceive China for her new book "China Unbound: A New World Disorder." Joanna joins Eric & Cobus to share some of her findings and to discuss why she feels there's such a huge discrepancy between how people in the Global North view China compared to sentiments in the Global South. SHOW NOTES:

Amazon.com: Purchase a copy of China Unbound: A New World Disorder
The China Project: China Unbound: The implications of China’s expanding influence by Mike Cormack
NüVoices: The international editorial collective of writers, journalists, translators and artists that showcases the diverse creative work of women, non-binary people, and minorities working on the subject of China.

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A left perspective on China-Africa relations

The China Project — Wed, 03 Nov 2021 17:35:39 +0000

In the run-up to Forum on China-Africa Cooperation conference that will take place later this month in Dakar, CAP is speaking with a wide spectrum of activists, analysts, and other thought leaders about what they think should be on the agenda when Chinese and African ministers convene. This week, Mikaela Nhondo Erskog, a researcher at the Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research joins Eric & Cobus from Johannesburg to share a leftist, socialist perspective on Sino-Africa engagement and why China's arrival in Africa in the early 2000s helped to break the continent's historical dependence on U.S. and European powers. RELATED READING:

Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research: ‘Serve the People: The Eradication of Extreme Poverty in China’

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Week in review: Sudan coup, Glasgow Climate Summit & G20 debt relief

The China Project — Fri, 29 Oct 2021 17:33:24 +0000

This week Eric & Cobus discuss the Chinese response to the military coup in Sudan and how it differs from Beijing's reaction to September's coup in Guinea. Plus, Cobus explains why he's not optimistic about the outcomes for developing countries from the upcoming Glasgow climate summit and should African countries expect much regarding debt relief from this weekend's G20 leaders summit in Rome. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: CAP on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Twitter: @eolander | @stadenesque JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff including our Week in Review report, invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

Anzetse Were on the current state of China-Africa economic relations

The China Project — Tue, 26 Oct 2021 17:30:48 +0000

China-Africa trade figures for the first eight months of the year are in and they look solid. So good, in fact, that the two sides appear on track to surpass last year's $187 billion in two-way trade. But those big numbers conceal some deeper problems, everything ranging from the large trade deficits in most African countries to high levels of debt in other states. Anzetse Were, a Nairobi-based development economist who's been closely following China-Africa economic ties for more than a decade, is nonetheless optimistic. She joins Eric & Cobus to explain why the growth in Chinese corporate engagement on the continent is going to be the critical factor. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: CAP on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Twitter: @eolander | @stadenesque JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff including our Week in Review report, invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

Folashadé Soulé on West Africa’s priorities at FOCAC 8

The China Project — Fri, 22 Oct 2021 17:27:18 +0000

The triennial Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit is just weeks away now and speculation is now starting to build as to what will be on the agenda. As of now, very little is known as to what's going to happen, not even the specific dates when the event will take place in Dakar, Senegal. Nonetheless, expectations are high that the forum will produce tangible outcomes for Africa on issues related to debt relief, infrastructure financing, and public health among others. Folashadé Soulé, a senior research associate at Oxford University, spoke with diplomats, policymakers and civil society stakeholders in several West African countries to find out what they're hoping to achieve at FOCAC. Folashadé joins Eric & Cobus to discuss what they said and to her predictions of what she thinks will be on the agenda. SHOW NOTES: SAIIA: Mapping the Future of Africa–China Relations: Insights from West Africa: https://bit.ly/3Bj6VL2 LSE IDEAS: FOCAC at 21: Future Trajectories of China-Africa Relations: https://bit.ly/3m04jg2 AFRICA CENTER FOR STRATEGIC STUDIES: The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation at 21: Where to Next?: https://bit.ly/2Zh8YSc JOIN THE DISCUSSION: CAP on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Twitter: @eolander | @stadenesque | @folasoule JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff including our Week in Review report, invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

The messy politics of building a railway in Kenya with Chinese money

The China Project — Wed, 20 Oct 2021 17:07:33 +0000

Kenya's Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) is the showcase in Africa for China's debt-led infrastructure development drive. While critics accuse China of saddling Nairobi with unsustainable levels of debt to build the rail line that goes from the port of Mombasa to the capital Nairobi and then on to Naivasha in the Rift Valley, the reality is actually a lot more complicated. It turns out that Kenya lawmakers worked hard to circumvent their own laws, conceal the terms of the deal and, most likely, pocketed millions for themselves along the way. Oscar Otele, a political science lecturer at the University of Nairobi, has been studying the complex, messy politics surrounding the SGR for the past eight years and summarized some of his research's key findings in a recent article published on the Council on Foreign Relations website. Oscar joins Eric & Cobus from Nairobi to discuss why the simple narratives about the SGR are not even remotely accurate. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: CAP on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Twitter: @eolander | @stadenesque JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff including our Week in Review report, invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

China’s role in Zambia’s unfolding debt crisis

The China Project — Tue, 12 Oct 2021 20:57:19 +0000

Zambia owes at least 18 Chinese creditors $6.6 billion, nearly twice as much as previously stated, according to a new report published by the China-Africa Research Initiative (CARI) at Johns Hopkins University. And that figure may be even higher as it doesn't account for penalties accrued by various Zambian borrowers who've fallen behind in their payments. While these latest findings confirm Zambia indeed has a very serious Chinese debt problem, the CARI report, however, details why the situation there is actually very different from that of other African countries that are also struggling to repay Chinese loans. The report's two authors, CARI Director Deborah Brautigam and Senior Research Assistant Yinxuan Wang join Eric & Cobus from Washington to discuss their findings and explain why Zambia is an outlier when it comes to Chinese debt in Africa. SHOW NOTES:

China-Africa Research Initiative: How Zambia and China Co-Created a Debt "Tragedy of the Commons" by Deborah Brautigam
China-Africa Research Initiative: Zambia’s Chinese Debt in the Pandemic Era by Deborah Brautigam and Yinxuan Wang

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China’s love-hate relationship with coal

The China Project — Fri, 08 Oct 2021 20:51:24 +0000

If you're confused about China's stance on the use of coal, well, you're definitely not alone. This week, China went on a global coal buying binge in a frantic effort to put a stop to rolling blackouts that have afflicted millions of residents, factories, and businesses in at least nine provinces over the past several weeks. But just two weeks earlier, President Xi Jinping told everyone at the United Nations General Assembly that Beijing planned to phase out the use of dirty fuels as part of an ambitious effort to reach peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030. And the President also said his government would halt the building of new coal-fired power plants abroad. So, China is doubling down on coal at home while abandoning the dirty fuel abroad? Rishikesh Ram Bhandary, assistant director of Boston University's Global Economic Governance Initiative and a leading expert on renewable energy in BRI countries joins Eric & Cobus to discuss the complex, confusing role that coal plays in Chinese energy policy. SHOW NOTES:

The Journal of Energy Research and Social Science: Banking on coal? Drivers of demand for Chinese overseas investments in coal in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, and Vietnam

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China’s role in Ghana’s unfolding fishing catastrophe

The China Project — Mon, 04 Oct 2021 20:46:23 +0000

While the Ghanaian government took decisive action earlier this year to crack down on illegal mining known as Galamsey where Chinese illegal mining interests have been active for years, Accra has done absolutely nothing to combat persistent illegal fishing in its waters. Foreign fishing companies, predominantly from China, operate with impunity in full view of the government who together are contributing to an ecological and humanitarian catastrophe, according to the findings from a recent report by the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF). In fact, EJF asserts that years of over-fishing by industrial fleets have decimated local fish stocks to the point where the small-scale fishing boats too often return empty. Socrates Segbor, the Ghana fisheries program manager at EJF, and Professor Wisdom Akpalu, dean of the school of research and graduate studies at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration both contributed to the report and join Eric & Cobus to explain China's role in this crisis and what, if anything, they think can be done to avert a full-blown disaster. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: CAP on Facebook: w ww.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Twitter: @eolander | @stadenesque | @ejfoundation JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff including our Week in Review report, invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject Your support of this podcast helps to keep the show on the air. Thank you!

Key takeaways from AidData’s new report on how China’s finances the BRI

The China Project — Fri, 01 Oct 2021 20:41:05 +0000

idData, the development research lab at William & Mary College in Virginia, published a landmark report this week that provides the most comprehensive overview to date of Chinese financing of projects along the Belt and Road. Researchers pored through 13,247 projects in 165 countries worth $843 billion from 2000 through 2017. The report sparked a torrent of media coverage this week, mostly on the news about $385 billion of so-called "hidden debts." But the data in this report tells a much more nuanced story about Chinese overseas development finance than what was portrayed in the news. AidData's Executive Director Brad Parks joins Eric & Cobus to walk through the report's key findings and explain why Chinese debt financing is incredibly complicated. SHOW NOTES:

Download the full report: Banking on the Belt and Road
AidData Blog: AidData’s new dataset of 13,427 Chinese development projects worth $843 billion reveals major increase in ‘hidden debt’ and Belt and Road Initiative implementation problems

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Is China exporting authoritarianism around the world?

The China Project — Fri, 24 Sep 2021 20:28:20 +0000

The Chinese and U.S. Presidents spoke on the same day this week at the United Nations General Assembly with each offering a different vision for the future. Joe Biden challenged critics who contend that democracy is in retreat while Xi Jinping warned "the world is once again at a historical crossroads" and pushed back on a U.S.-led international order. And there's a lot at stake for developing countries in Africa and elsewhere in this debate as both major powers seek to align others to their worldview. In Washington, D.C., there's a widespread perception that Beijing is increasingly using technology, money, and ideological influence to spread authoritarianism around the world to better strengthen its geopolitical position. Charles Edel and David Shullman, two leading U.S. China analysts laid out the challenge in an article published in the current edition of Foreign Affairs where they detail "China's international efforts to subvert democracy." Charles and David join Eric & Cobus from Washington to discuss the threat they think China presents and how policymakers should respond. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: CAP on Facebook: w ww.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Twitter: @eolander | @stadenesque | @charlesedel | @davidshullman SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHINA AFRICA PROJECT Your subscription supports independent journalism. Subscribers get the following: 1. The world's only curated China-Africa News Feed with thousands of articles archive 2. Exclusive analysis of the day's top stories about China in Africa and the Global South 3. A copy of the popular China-Africa Daily Brief newsletter delivered to your inbox by 6am Washington time M-F Try it free for 30-days and see if you like it. Subscriptions start at just $7 a month for students and teachers and $15 a month for everyone else. Subscribe here: www.chinaafricaproject.com/subscribe

Update on the China-DR Congo mining contracts dispute

The China Project — Tue, 21 Sep 2021 20:21:01 +0000

After months of negative media coverage, Chinese mining companies in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are pushing back against the perception they aren't fulfilling their contractual obligations to provide social services and build infrastructure for the local communities where they operate. There's been a recent flurry of news coverage, social media posts, and even ministerial visits to mining sites to bolster their position. DRC mining and policy analyst Christian-Geraud Neema Byamungu has been closely following the Chinese response to the government's moves to review foreign mining contracts and how this increasingly contentious issue is unfolding. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: CAP on Facebook: w ww.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Twitter: @eolander | @stadenesque | @christiangeraud SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHINA AFRICA PROJECT Your subscription supports independent journalism. Subscribers get the following: 1. The world's only curated China-Africa News Feed with thousands of articles archive 2. Exclusive analysis of the day's top stories about China in Africa and the Global South 3. A copy of the popular China-Africa Daily Brief newsletter delivered to your inbox by 6am Washington time M-F Try it free for 30-days and see if you like it. Subscriptions start at just $7 a month for students and teachers and $15 a month for everyone else. Subscribe here: www.chinaafricaproject.com/subscribe

The complicated, confusing nature of China’s ties with Israel

The China Project — Fri, 17 Sep 2021 20:15:14 +0000

China has deftly managed its relations in the Middle East across sensitive sectarian and geopolitical landscapes but now that Beijing is moving to become more engaged in the region, it risks falling into many of the same pitfalls that have bedeviled other major powers. Nowhere is this more on display than in Israel where Beijing has enjoyed steadily improving relations with the Jewish State over the past thirty years but now confronts unprecedented new geopolitical challenges. Tuvia Gering, a China research fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, closely follows Sino-Israeli ties and joins Eric & Cobus to discuss the current state of relations between the world's two oldest continuous civilizations. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: CAP on Facebook: w ww.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Twitter: @eolander | @stadenesque | @GeringTuvia SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHINA AFRICA PROJECT Your subscription supports independent journalism. Subscribers get the following: 1. The world's only curated China-Africa News Feed with thousands of articles archive 2. Exclusive analysis of the day's top stories about China in Africa and the Global South 3. A copy of the popular China-Africa Daily Brief newsletter delivered to your inbox by 6am Washington time M-F Try it free for 30-days and see if you like it. Subscriptions start at just $7 a month for students and teachers and $15 a month for everyone else. Subscribe here: www.chinaafricaproject.com/subscribe

Why food security & agriculture issues need to be atop the China-Africa agenda

The China Project — Tue, 14 Sep 2021 20:31:54 +0000

A growing number of people in Africa are facing acute shortages of food due in part to disruptions brought on by COVID, climate change, and, in some countries, conflict. Solving the problem today is not going to be easy given how much of the continent depends on imported food supplies. China at once is both a contributor to the problem, especially given its role as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, and a key part of the solution. Ama Brandford-Arthur, a senior partnerships officer in the South-South and Triangular Cooperation Unit at the International Fund for Agricultural Development, a specialized UN agency, joins Eric & Cobus from Rome to discuss what she thinks China can do to help alleviate the growing problem of food insecurity in Africa. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: CAP on Facebook: w ww.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Twitter: @eolander | @stadenesque SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHINA AFRICA PROJECT Your subscription supports independent journalism. Subscribers get the following: 1. The world's only curated China-Africa News Feed with thousands of articles archive 2. Exclusive analysis of the day's top stories about China in Africa and the Global South 3. A copy of the popular China-Africa Daily Brief newsletter delivered to your inbox by 6am Washington time M-F Try it free for 30-days and see if you like it. Subscriptions start at just $7 a month for students and teachers and $15 a month for everyone else. Subscribe here: www.chinaafricaproject.com/subscribe

China’s role in the burgeoning debt challenge in Africa

The China Project — Fri, 10 Sep 2021 20:25:37 +0000

It is very difficult, if not impossible, right now to accurately public opinion perceptions of China in a region as large and diverse as Africa. There are strong indications that point in opposite directions. African leaders one after another shower China with praise for its ongoing support of infrastructure development and COVID-19 vaccine distribution among other activities. Meantime, civil society views of China in many African countries are seemingly becoming increasingly negative amid a steady stream of violent videos appearing on social media show abuse of local workers along with reports of illegal immigration and widespread environmental violations by Chinese companies. Maria Repnikova, an assistant professor at Georgia State University, closely follows these trends and has conducted extensive field research on the issue in Ethiopia and elsewhere. She joins Eric & Cobus from Atlanta to discuss current trends in Chinese soft power in Africa and why Chinese training junkets for African elites are proving to be especially effective. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: CAP on Facebook: w ww.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Twitter: @eolander | @stadenesque | @mariarepnikova Amazon: Purchase a Kindle copy of Maria's book "Media Politics in China: Improvising Power under Authoritarianism" SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHINA AFRICA PROJECT Your subscription supports independent journalism. Subscribers get the following: 1. The world's only curated China-Africa News Feed with thousands of articles archive 2. Exclusive analysis of the day's top stories about China in Africa and the Global South 3. A copy of the popular China-Africa Daily Brief newsletter delivered to your inbox by 6am Washington time M-F Try it free for 30-days and see if you like it. Subscriptions start at just $7 a month for students and teachers and $15 a month for everyone else. Subscribe here: www.chinaafricaproject.com/subscribe

Gauging the effectiveness of Chinese soft power in Africa

The China Project — Tue, 07 Sep 2021 20:44:13 +0000

Gauging the Effectiveness of Chinese Soft Power in Africa

A conversation with Wu Peng, China’s top diplomat for Africa

The China Project — Fri, 03 Sep 2021 20:29:08 +0000

A Conversation With Wu Peng, China's Top Diplomat For Africa

This week Eric & Cobus sit down with Wu Peng, the director-general of the department of African affairs in the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for his perspective on a wide range of issues that are impacting relations between the two regions. The conversation also features questions from a trio of experts in China-Africa relations including:

Gyude Moore, a senior policy fellow at the Center for Global Development (@gyude_moore)
Zainab Usman, director of the Africa program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (@MissZeeUsman)
Aggrey Mutambo, senior diplomatic affairs writer for the Daily Nation and The East African newspaper (@agmutambo)

JOIN THE DISCUSSION: CAP on Facebook: w ww.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Twitter: @eolander | @stadenesque | @wupeng_mfachina SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHINA AFRICA PROJECT Your subscription supports independent journalism. Subscribers get the following: 1. The world's only curated China-Africa News Feed with thousands of articles archive 2. Exclusive analysis of the day's top stories about China in Africa and the Global South 3. A copy of the popular China-Africa Daily Brief newsletter delivered to your inbox by 6am Washington time M-F Try it free for 30-days and see if you like it. Subscriptions start at just $7 a month for students and teachers and $15 a month for everyone else. Subscribe here: www.chinaafricaproject.com/subscribe

Can Africa learn anything from how China runs its state companies?

The China Project — Tue, 31 Aug 2021 20:18:13 +0000

As African countries work to rebuild their economies from the wreckage caused by the ongoing COVID pandemic, policymakers will be looking at what they can do to bolster their countries' state-owned enterprises (SOE). That may prompt them to examine China's model of SOE governance for some inspiration. Although China's SOE system is largely unique to China and would be impossible to replicate in African countries, Luke Jordan, a practitioner in resident at the MIT Governance Lab, recently suggested in a new paper published by SAIIA that are, in fact, certain attributes that African stakeholders should consider. Luke joins Eric & Cobus from Belin to discuss his paper and what specific lessons about China's SOE experience he thinks would be applicable in an African context.

New trends in Chinese energy and development finance

The China Project — Fri, 27 Aug 2021 12:52:15 +0000

U.S. special climate envoy John Kerry will be in China next week to pressure the government to renounce all future financing of coal power plants around the world. Although China generally does not respond well to foreign demands like this, Beijing may have already acceded to Kerry's request. So far this year, China hasn't financed a single overseas coal project. This is the first time that's happened in more than a decade and appears to be part of a growing trend to focus its development finance initiatives on greener, cleaner projects that are smaller and less risky financially. Christoph Nedopil, director of the Green Finance and Development Center at Fudan University, is among the world's leading experts in tracking Chinese sustainable energy finance, particularly in Belt and Road countries. He joins Eric & Cobus from Shanghai to discuss the findings from his latest BRI investment report for H1 2021.

Gyude Moore reflects on a week of democracy, debt, and despair

The China Project — Tue, 17 Aug 2021 12:52:15 +0000

A lot of major developments this week in the China-Africa space following Zambia's landslide election victory for opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema and new debt repayment challenges in Kenya for the embattled Standard Gauge Railway. Gyude Moore, a senior policy fellow at the Center for Global Development, has been closely following these events and joins Eric & Cobus from Washington to also reflect on how what happened in Kabul might impact U.S. foreign policy towards Africa.

Assessing the impact of anti-China sentiment in the Global South

The China Project — Fri, 13 Aug 2021 12:52:15 +0000

In many countries in Africa, Asia, and throughout the Global South there's often a large discrepancy between perceptions of China in civil society and among governing elites. This phenomenon has been on full display recently in the Democratic Republic of the Congo where public anger surged in response to numerous videos circulating on social media that show the maltreatment of local mine workers by Chinese managers and reveal evidence of environmental violations by Chinese mining companies. Meantime, the President and Prime Minister studiously avoid these controversies as they work to attract more Chinese investment to the DRC. But does civil society hostility towards China have any measurable impact on a country's policies towards Beijing? Charles Dunst, an associate in the global macro practice at the Eurasia Group, argues that it might and leaders in Global South countries should be concerned. Charles joins Eric & Cobus from Washington to discuss his new article in World Politics Review on the subject.

An update on the current state of China-Zimbabwe economic relations

The China Project — Wed, 11 Aug 2021 12:52:15 +0000

China's ties with Zimbabwe are either going off the rails or are among the strongest most dynamic in Africa depending on who you listen to. Mounting civil society anger towards Chinese companies and their apparent disregard for local labor and environmental standards is becoming a huge problem. But at the same time, Chinese banks and enterprises are making huge investments in Zim's energy, mining and telecommunications infrastructure that's bringing badly needed jobs to this embattled country. Prolific Mataruse, a political science lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe, closely follows Chinese economic trends in Zimbabwe. He recently contributed two chapters on the subject to a new China-Zim Economic Handbook published by the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association and joins Eric & Cobus to discuss his findings.

A peek into the mysterious world of Chinese diplomacy

The China Project — Fri, 06 Aug 2021 12:52:15 +0000

Chinese diplomats around the world are comprised of a mix of reclusive bureaucrats who strenuously avoid public engagement and a new generation of assertive, sometimes even downright aggressive so-called "Wolf Warriors" who wage combat with Beijing's critics. Why they behave the way they do is a mystery to most outsiders. But a new book by Bloomberg journalist Peter Martin, "China's Civilian Army: The Making of Wolf Warrior Diplomacy," provides some fascinating insights on the people and principles that have shaped Chinese diplomacy since the 1950s. Peter joins Eric & Cobus from Washington, D.C. to discuss how current Chinese diplomatic practices are firmly rooted in the past.

China to Kenya: It’s payback time

The China Project — Tue, 03 Aug 2021 19:52:15 +0000

Kenya's National Treasury has resumed debt repayments to China after a 6-month debt deferral period expired in June. The Kenyan government had hoped to be able to extend that through the end of the year but Chinese creditors, namely the China Exim Bank, did not like that idea at all. Apparently, things got so bad that Chinese creditors halted disbursements for projects that are underway right now in Kenya... bringing construction to a halt in some cases. Kenya's foreign exchange reserves dropped by $249 million dollars between July 15 and 21. No one has explained where that money went but it's presumed that was the first debt payment sent to China this year. And this is only the beginning. For the 2021-2022 fiscal year that just started, Kenya is scheduled to transfer $1.1 billion to meet its debt servicing obligations with China. The China Africa Project's new Africa Editor, Cliff Mboya, joins Eric & Cobus this week from Nairobi to discuss the resumption of Kenya debt payments to China and what it says about the current state of China-Africa relations more broadly.

China’s role in re-energizing the South Sudan peace process

The China Project — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 19:52:15 +0000

South Sudan marked its tenth anniversary this month as an independent country. Regrettably, though, after a decade of civil war and divided government that has left at least 400,000 people dead and displaced a third of the population, there isn't much to celebrate. From the beginning, China's played an important role in South Sudan, from the creation of the country to playing a lead mediation role in the peace process to being the only major power with combat troops on the ground operating under UN command. With the peace process now largely stalled, a lot of people are now looking to Beijing to see what China can do to get the rival parties back to the table to bring about an end to the fighting. Wake Forest University Assistant Professor Lina Benabdallah recently moderated an invite-only workshop among leading Chinese and African scholars, activists, and former diplomats that examined what China can do to help revitalize the South Sudan peace process. Lina joins Eric & Cobus to share some of the highlights from that forum.

Welcome to the new era of China-Africa relations

The China Project — Fri, 23 Jul 2021 19:52:15 +0000

China's apparent decision to bail on financing the $2.8 billion AKK pipeline in Nigeria is the latest evidence that Beijing's strategy to engage the continent has changed, a lot. This pipeline is now the third major project in Nigeria this year that Chinese financiers have walked away from. And it's happening elsewhere too. In Zimbabwe, China's largest bank, ICBC, bailed on the $3 billion Sengwa coal-fired power plant. This is a trend that's been underway for quite some time as Chinese infrastructure financing fell last year from $11 billion to just $3.3 billion. The fact is, Africa can no longer count on China to finance its massive infrastructure deficit. So, the key question now is what comes next? Sanusha Naidu and Arina Muresan, both researchers at the Pretoria-based foreign policy think tank Institute for Global Dialogue, are asking that same question in their research about the future of Chinese engagement on the continent. Both join Eric & Cobus from Johannesburg to discuss the implications of this new era in China-Africa relations.

Tanzania resumes talks with China over the Bagamoyo Port deal. But is it too late?

The China Project — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 19:52:15 +0000

Tanzanian President Samia Hassan surprised a lot of people last month when she announced that talks with China had resumed over the controversial Bagamoyo port deal. This is the deal that President Hassan's predecessor, the late John Magufuli, famously halted back in 2019 when he said only a "drunkard" would accept the terms put forth by China Merchant Holdings International. Things have changed a lot since then and apparently, even Chinese President Xi Jinping is now open to the idea of restarting negotiations over the multibillion-dollar port expansion project. But President Hassan faces a tough challenge. First, the Chinese aren't spending the kind of money on big infrastructure projects as they used to in Africa. Secondly, there's a lot of port capacity now in East Africa, from Djibouti to Durban, so the economic feasibility of a big project like this remains an open question. Thabit Jacob, a post-doctoral researcher in the department of political science at the University of Gothenberg, and Muhidin Shangwe, a lecturer in the political science department at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, join Eric & Cobus to discuss the politics and economics surrounding the Sino-Tanzanian Bagamoyo port deal.

When it comes to China, Africa and Central Asia have quite a bit in common

The China Project — Fri, 02 Jul 2021 19:52:15 +0000

It's not obvious, but when it comes to managing ties with China, countries in Central Asia and Africa have a lot more in common with one another than many would first assume. Both are among China's smallest trading partners that rely primarily on oil and other commodity exports. Countries in both regions have taken on quite a bit of Chinese debt to build infrastructure and both areas have complex civil society ties with China. And both Africa and Central are now important outposts along China's Belt and Road Initiative. Nargis Kassenova is a leading China-Central Asia expert at the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University. She joins Eric & Cobus to discuss the current dynamics surrounding China's engagement in the region and what lessons can be applied to countries in Africa and beyond.

The Diplomat’s Shannon Tiezzi on China and the Global South

The China Project — Tue, 29 Jun 2021 19:52:15 +0000

While China's ties with Europe, the U.S., Japan, and other wealthy northern countries steadily worsen, Beijing is leaning harder on its relations with states in the Global South. The importance of those ties was on full display over the past week on a range of issues, everything from Xinjiang to online governance to infrastructure. Shannon Tiezzi, editor in chief of the Asia-Pacific news website The Diplomat and a well-known China-watcher, joins Eric & Cobus for a wide-ranging discussion on current trends in Chinese international relations with a focus on Beijing's engagement in Africa and other developing regions.

DRC wants to renegotiate Chinese mining deals. It won’t be easy.

The China Project — Tue, 22 Jun 2021 19:52:15 +0000

DR Congo President Félix Tshisekedi last month traveled to the country's mining heartland in Upper Katanga to personally tell everyone that he's had enough of business as usual and that he plans to renegotiate unfair foreign mining contracts. While he didn't call out the Chinese by name, everyone knew that's precisely who was referring to given that 30 out of the 40 foreign mining companies operating in mineral-rich province are Chinese-affiliated. But it's not going to be easy for the President to follow through on that promise. After all, he doesn't have a lot of leverage against the Chinese given there isn't a lot of international competition to take their place if should they leave. He will also need their support for his upcoming re-election campaign in 2023. So, who's the President actually targeting with his new get-tough populist tone? Domestic stakeholders? The United States? Christian Géraud Neema Byamungu is an independent Congolese mining and policy analyst who's been closely following Tshisekedi's announcements and the rapidly shifting politics involving the Chinese in the DRC. He joins Eric & Cobus from Tokyo to explain what he thinks the President wants to achieve with the call to renegotiate the mining deals.

An update on Chinese lending in Africa

The China Project — Fri, 18 Jun 2021 19:52:15 +0000

This week's launch of the new Lagos to Ibadan Standard Gauge Railway may be the last time for a long while that a multibillion-dollar infrastructure project like this is built in Africa using Chinese loans. Chinese development finance lending in Africa and elsewhere throughout the Global South has cratered in recent years and it appears that Beijing has, at least for now, lost interest in loaning vast sums of money to poor countries to build infrastructure. To be sure, Chinese creditors are still making loans, but they're a lot smaller and less risky. On top of that, creditors demand air-tight feasibility studies that almost guarantee they'll get their money back. Zainab Usman, the Africa program director at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, is closely following Chinese overseas finance trends to study the impact on the continent. She joins Eric and Cobus from Washington to discuss her latest analysis, which explores five key takeaways on Chinese lending in Africa.

China moves ahead with vaccine distribution while COVAX, U.S. efforts falter

The China Project — Thu, 03 Jun 2021 21:26:33 +0000

By now, COVAX, the global vaccine alliance, should have shipped almost a quarter of a billion doses to the world's poorest countries. That hasn't happened. In fact, the alliance has distributed just 72 million jabs, a tiny fraction of what's needed. Similarly, the United States has faltered in its efforts to send excess vaccines overseas now that inoculation rates at home are beginning to slow. This is leaving a huge opening for China to expand its already sizable vaccine distribution drive to places like Africa and elsewhere throughout the Global South. As of this week, according to the latest data from Bridge Consulting in Beijing, China has confirmed sales of 732 million doses and has actually delivered 256 million to countries in Asia, the Americas, and Africa, among others. And those numbers are expected to rise quickly in the weeks ahead now that the Chinese-made Sinopharm has received the seal of approval from both the World Health Organization and the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Bridge Consulting policy and advocacy associate Zhou Zixiang is on the team that tabulates the weekly Chinese COVID-19 vaccine tracker report. He joins Eric and Cobus from Beijing to discuss which Chinese vaccines are going where.

What should be on the China-Africa environmental agenda?

The China Project — Tue, 18 May 2021 20:18:24 +0000

Environmental issues once featured prominently on the China-Africa agenda, where leaders on both sides focused on the wildlife trade, conservation, and a wide range of sustainability issues. Not anymore. Today, it's all about access to COVID-19 vaccines, trade, and the U.S.-China face-off. African leaders, for their part, are not prioritizing critical environmental issues in talks with their Chinese counterparts. And, once again, it looks like sustainability will not be a key focus of the upcoming Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit, which is scheduled to take place in Senegal later this year. That's too bad, because there's a lot to discuss. Two journalists, Zhang Zhizhu, a freelance environmental reporter in Beijing, and Terna Gyuse, a Cape Town–based contributing editor for the environmental news site Mongabay, join Eric and Cobus to discuss the top China-Africa environmental stories, and why they feel these issues should be on the FOCAC agenda.

China and the rapidly changing security dynamics in the Middle East and North Africa

The China Project — Tue, 04 May 2021 19:31:30 +0000

A pair of recent Congressional hearings revealed the heightened anxiety in Washington about China's expanding presence in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Both lawmakers and Pentagon officials appear increasingly concerned that China's rapidly expanding economic, security, and diplomatic presence in the region will come at the expense of the United States. Fudan University international relations scholar Andrea Ghiselli agrees...well, sort of. In a new paper published in the RUSI Journal and a new book that just came out from Oxford University Press, Ghiselli argues that China does, in fact, want to erode U.S. influence in MENA as part of a broader campaign to transition from a unipolar world to a multipolar one. But contrary to the perception among many in Washington, Ghiselli contends that the Chinese have no plans to challenge the U.S. militarily in MENA but will instead rely on economic and diplomatic initiatives.

The U.S.’s Blue Dot Network vs. China’s Belt and Road Initiative

The China Project — Wed, 21 Apr 2021 19:43:12 +0000

In the run-up to last Friday's U.S.-Japan summit at the White House, there had been a lot of talk that President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga would announce a new plan to challenge China's Belt and Road Initiative. In the end, it turned out that the two leaders did not address infrastructure development in their summit's joint statement. However, there is still plenty of enthusiasm in both Washington and Tokyo for coming up with a way to stem China's lead in building infrastructure throughout the Global South. Elizabeth Losos, a senior fellow at Duke University's Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, thinks that reviving the failed Blue Dot Network from 2019 might be the answer. She joins Eric and Cobus from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, to talk about why it's critical to simultaneously tackle the climate crisis and confront the Chinese on infrastructure.

China wants to be a big player in the Middle East

The China Project — Mon, 05 Apr 2021 20:34:31 +0000

The latest six-nation tour of the Middle East and Turkey by Chinese Foreign Minister Wáng Yì 王毅 revealed that Beijing now aims to play a much larger role in the region. During his trip, Wang signed a high-profile strategic cooperation agreement with Iran, announced a major vaccine production deal with the United Arab Emirates, and brought China's message on Xinjiang to Saudi Arabia, home of Islam's two holiest sites in Mecca and Medina. An assistant professor of political science at Zayed University and an Atlantic Council senior fellow, Jonathan Fulton is among the world's foremost China-Middle East scholars and closely followed Wang's trip. He joins Eric and Cobus from Abu Dhabi to discuss the outcomes of the recent tour and China's broader ambitions in the Middle East.

Tibor Nagy reflects on U.S.-China competition in Africa

The China Project — Tue, 09 Mar 2021 21:16:26 +0000

The Chinese "are kicking our tails everywhere," warned Tibor Nagy in a recent column published in the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal newspaper in Texas. The former top U.S. diplomat for Africa called on the new Biden administration to do more to confront Beijing's "unrestrained and aggressive tactics" on the continent. Nagy's comments come as both Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken held press conferences last week where they each castigated the other’s country in yet another indication of rapidly deteriorating relations between the two powers. After more than 30 years in the State Department, including ambassadorial appointments in both Guinea and Ethiopia, and then named in 2018 to be Assistant Secretary of State, Nagy is among America's most experienced Africa-focused diplomats. He joins Eric and Cobus from Washington, D.C., to discuss what he thinks the U.S. needs to do to respond to China's surging influence in Africa and why it's so important that Washington take immediate action.

China and the geopolitics of COVID-19 vaccines in Africa

The China Project — Mon, 15 Feb 2021 20:46:49 +0000

COVID-19 vaccines are finally starting to make their way to the world's poorest countries as production of Chinese, Russian, and Indian jabs ramps up. But it's the large-scale distribution of Chinese vaccines that's causing a lot of people around the world, particularly in the U.S. and European countries, to become increasingly worried about the geopolitical ramifications. In Africa, the Chinese have exported vaccines to half a dozen countries and are in talks with dozens more to make jabs available in the coming months. Similarly, a new air bridge between the two regions, to facilitate the transportation and distribution of vaccines throughout Africa, is now operational. Nwachukwu Egbunike, the sub-Saharan community manager for the independent journalism website Global Voices, says the West isn't in a good position to complain about China's "vaccine diplomacy" given how little it’s doing to help the situation. Nwachukwu joins Eric and Cobus to discuss a two-part series he wrote on the geopolitical ramifications of COVID-19 vaccine distribution for China, Africa, and Western countries.

Tanzania’s relationship status with China: It’s complicated

The China Project — Mon, 01 Feb 2021 20:45:03 +0000

The January visit of Chinese Foreign Minister Wáng Yì 王毅 to Tanzania highlighted the East African country's growing importance to Beijing. It's a strategically located Belt and Road country that has the potential to serve as a major gateway to inland regional markets and provide easy access to some of Africa's largest ports on the Indian Ocean. But relations between the two countries have been quite bumpy over the past couple of years. President John Magufuli famously and quite publicly rejected a Chinese deal to rebuild the Port of Bagamoyo, and there was widespread outrage in Tanzania in response to the poor treatment of African residents in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou. University of Dar es Salaam political science lecturer Muhidin Shangwe is among the world's leading Sino-Tanzanian affairs scholars. He joins Eric and Cobus to discuss why Wang chose to visit Tanzania now and how Beijing's ties there are quite different from those in other East African countries.

China wants to become a major player in international aid

The China Project — Tue, 26 Jan 2021 20:43:35 +0000

In January, China published a blueprint for how it plans to become one of the world's leading countries in international aid and development. The white paper "China's International Development Cooperation in the New Era," released by the State Council, updates two previous strategy documents and outlines Beijing's ambitious plans to overhaul its current, rather limited, aid and development initiatives around the world. But the paper also makes it clear that the Chinese don't have any plans to adjust their new aid agenda to mirror those of Western-led international organizations and donor states. Instead, the new strategy talks about new "diverse forms" of aid and the integration of China's development policies with other initiatives like the Belt and Road. The timing of this new aid plan is critical, as many of those traditional donors are under mounting pressure to cut their foreign aid budgets, and the implications of what the Chinese say they want to do could be significant for Africa and other developing regions. Stella Hong Zhang, a Ph.D. candidate at George Mason University in the United States, is among the world's leading experts on Chinese international aid and development. She described the new white paper as a "landmark document" and joins Eric and Cobus to discuss why she feels it's so important.

China’s rapidly evolving relations in the DR Congo

The China Project — Tue, 19 Jan 2021 21:18:36 +0000

Foreign Minister Wang Yi's stopover in Kinshasa on his latest Africa tour highlights the growing importance of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Chinese foreign policy. During his visit, Wang announced a modest debt relief package and that the DR Congo would become the 45th African country to join the Belt and Road Initiative. But those efforts belie the DR Congo's larger importance to China. The Chinese are now in the midst of procuring vast amounts of cobalt, a critical metal found largely in the DR Congo. Similarly, Kinshasa has been a reliable supporter of Beijing's controversial positions at the United Nations, including its stance on Xinjiang. Stockholm-based independent researcher Johanna Malm is one of the world's leading scholars on Sino-DR Congo relations and has been closely watching the rapid evolution of Chinese engagement in the DR Congo from the mid-2000s to the present. She joins Eric and Cobus to provide some perspective on how China's current moves there are part of a trajectory that began with an enormous mining deal in 2007.

China’s growing influence in the Middle East and Persian Gulf

The China Project — Fri, 08 Jan 2021 21:14:18 +0000

China is steadily reducing its dependence on African oil suppliers, who once accounted for a third of Chinese crude imports. Today, China buys more oil from Saudia Arabia than any other country in the world. From 2019 to 2020, Chinese oil buys from the Kingdom surged 47%. The Chinese are also buying more oil from Iraq and leveraging its close ties with the United Arab Emirates to establish sophisticated trading logistics hubs in Dubai as part of the Belt and Road Initiative. Yet China's presence in the Middle East, the Persian Gulf, and North Africa isn't confined to just the commercial realm. Beijing is also rapidly expanding its diplomatic and security engagement in those regions. Now some are beginning to wonder if China has hegemonic ambitions that will challenge incumbent powers like the United States. Afshin Molavi doesn't think so, at least not now. Molavi closely follows Middle East and North Africa (MENA) politics as a senior fellow at the Johns Hopkins SAIS Foreign Policy Institute in Washington, D.C., and regularly travels to the region to meet with senior stakeholders. He joins Eric and Cobus to discuss his new paper, Enter the dragon: China’s growing influence in the Middle East and North Africa, and explains policymakers' need for a more refined view of China's ambitions in MENA.

Special edition: The year ahead in China-Africa relations

The China Project — Mon, 04 Jan 2021 21:44:50 +0000

With the COVID-19 pandemic still raging, the debt crisis unresolved, and preparations underway for the triennial China-Africa leaders' summit, 2021 is shaping up to be another pivotal year. In this special edition, analysts and scholars from China, the U.S., and several African countries share their perspectives on how they think these critical issues are going to play out in the months ahead.

China’s role in Africa’s economic transformation

The China Project — Mon, 30 Nov 2020 21:20:46 +0000

Over the past 20 years, China has played a pivotal and arguably indispensable role in Africa's economic development. The country is by far Africa's largest bilateral trading partner, a major source of foreign investment, and a vital player in helping Africa to close its huge infrastructure deficit. But in recent years, since around 2015, the economic relationship between these two regions has been steadily evolving. Now, with the rise of the Belt and Road, China is no longer as dependent on Africa for the oil, timber, and minerals that make up the bulk of Chinese trade and investment on the continent. Tsinghua University professor Táng Xiǎoyáng 唐晓阳 and Overseas Development Institute Research Fellow Linda Calabrese recently published a new paper that explores China's role in Africa's economic transformation. They join Eric and Cobus to discuss their findings and share their insights into the current state of China-Africa economic ties amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, this week, we feature a short interview with Ghana Business News managing editor Emmanuel Dogbevi about his determination to continue publishing after a fire destroyed almost all of the company's equipment.

China’s role in East Africa’s technology stack

The China Project — Tue, 24 Nov 2020 21:08:45 +0000

The technology stack, either in a company or a country, is composed of the different technology layers that together form a digital communications ecosystem. In places like East Africa, Chinese technology is indispensable up and down the stack — from the internet cables and telecom base towers that deliver connectivity to the mobile phones that consumers use, much of the infrastructure is Chinese-made. So when the U.S. government focuses a disproportionate amount of attention on Huawei, and ZTE to some extent, it’s missing the much-bigger picture, where Chinese technology is pervasive throughout East Africa's digital ecosystem. Moreover, Chinese tech companies aren't just playing in the hardware space. They're also becoming increasingly active in the African app market, ecommerce, and laying the groundwork for emerging technologies, including blockchain and cryptocurrencies. Michael Kimani is closely following all of this from Nairobi, where he's an independent blockchain adviser to companies and governments in the region. He joins Eric and Cobus to share his insights into the latest Chinese tech trends in East Africa and why he thinks companies like Huawei are well positioned in the market.

What role will China play in Joe Biden’s Africa policy?

The China Project — Tue, 17 Nov 2020 20:53:32 +0000

After a tumultuous three and a half years, a wide array of African stakeholders are hoping for a "reset" in Washington's ties with the continent following the election of President-elect Joe Biden. Specifically, they're hoping the United States will reengage multilateral institutions like the World Health Organization and the World Trade Organization, resume its traditional leadership role in international finance, and do more to help countries battle the spread of COVID-19. But more than anything, there's a desire for the U.S. to dial down the rhetoric against China. African leaders have become increasingly anxious in recent months that they're going to once again get swept up in a great power duel. Throughout the continent, memories of Africa's disproportionate suffering during the Cold War are still fresh. Furthermore, heightened U.S.-China tensions unnerve global markets, which bring down prices of oil and other key commodities that generate the bulk of the continent's income. Joshua Eisenman, an associate professor at the University of Notre Dame, who specializes in Chinese global politics, has been closely following the political maneuverings between the U.S. and China following the election. He joins Eric and Cobus to discuss the role that China may play in the incoming administration's future Africa policy.

The black expat experience in Hong Kong

The China Project — Fri, 13 Nov 2020 20:43:34 +0000

African residents living in China today are either students or traders, according to widely held perceptions. With more than 80,000 African students studying in China every year and tens of thousands of people from across the continent doing business in port cities like Guangzhou and Yiwu, it's not surprising that these misconceptions persist. But these perceptions grossly oversimplify a very diverse population. Moreover, they don't account for the growing number of black professionals from around the world who now live in many of China's largest cities, especially in places like Hong Kong. Adedamola Sowole, aka the "Fantastic Fo," and Louisa Awolaja, aka "Lou," want to change that with a new podcast they co-host together about the black expatriate experience in Hong Kong. Both are Nigerian British expats who work in Hong Kong in professional jobs and interview other black expats about daily life in one of Asia's largest cities. The two join Eric and Cobus to talk about their show and the sensitive issues they tackle in each episode.

Weaponizing China’s Belt and Road Initiative

The China Project — Mon, 09 Nov 2020 20:36:40 +0000

Since its inception in 2013, Chinese government officials have insisted that the Belt and Road (BRI) is solely an economic initiative and does not have any military motivations. But the BRI's civil-military distinction is no longer as clear cut as it used to be. President Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 himself called for a strong BRI security system to protect China's overseas interests, people, and property. One little-known aspect of the BRI is that much of the overseas construction, particularly ports, must adhere to standards that conform to the People's Liberation Army's requirements. So while today there's little evidence that China is leveraging the BRI for security or military purposes, there are concerns that it is positioning infrastructure to be able to do so in the future should the need arise. Daniel Russel, vice president for international security and diplomacy at the New York–based Asia Society Policy Institute, examined the security dimensions of the BRI in a recent paper. In this episode, Daniel joins Eric and Cobus to discuss what he calls the Belt and Road's "civil-military fusion" in maritime, terrestrial, and space environments.

Why the “professional pessimists” are wrong about Africa’s economic future

The China Project — Mon, 02 Nov 2020 21:12:19 +0000

Africa's economic landscape today looks bleak. Debt levels, unemployment rates, and bankruptcies are all on the rise across much of the continent. And it doesn't look like there's going to be much help from the international community to weather the worst financial crisis in a generation. Both state and private creditors from China aren't giving borrowers a lot of flexibility and traditional donors in the U.S., Europe, and Japan are preoccupied with their own crises. Given how difficult times are for so many people, it's easy to lose perspective and see only the negative side of things. But Djoudie Etoundi-Essomba thinks that would be a serious mistake. More importantly, the Washington, D.C.–based founder and CEO of the investment advisory firm Emerging Africa Partners argues that, while things are indeed challenging now, there are still reasons to be optimistic about the continent's economic future. Djoudie joins Eric and Cobus to challenge some of the prevailing negative narratives about Africa and explain why he thinks the so-called "professional pessimists" are wrong.

Deciphering China’s Belt and Road Initiative

The China Project — Mon, 26 Oct 2020 19:44:43 +0000

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a central theme of China's foreign policy, particularly in developing regions like Africa, where it's linked to billions of dollars of infrastructure development. But when you ask Chinese officials "What exactly is the BRI?," no one really seems to have a definitive answer. It's a development agenda, a foreign policy initiative, a security strategy, and much more, all mixed together. While it may seem counterintuitive, that ambiguity and confusion are actually intentional, according to Jonathan E. Hillman, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the author of the new book The Emperor’s New Road: China and the Project of the Century. Jonathan joins Eric and Cobus to discuss his research on the BRI and why it embodies China's push for "incremental imperialism."

Combating malaria in the Comoros Islands: How China almost got it right

The China Project — Wed, 07 Oct 2020 19:36:48 +0000

Back in 2007, China led an ambitious program to eradicate malaria in the Comoros Islands, a small island nation off the coast of Mozambique in southeastern Africa. And, for the most part, it was successful, but the process wasn't easy and, not surprisingly, the Chinese medical teams leading the effort encountered a lot of challenges. Experts today are now studying the Chinese program there to see if there are lessons that can be applied to the broader anti-malaria effort on the African mainland. Malaria continues to be one of the leading causes of death in Africa, where the mosquito-borne disease claims at least 400,000 lives a year, mostly children under the age of five. Now, amid the COVID-19 outbreak, public health stakeholders are becoming increasingly concerned that the fight against malaria will suffer given how much of the attention and funding has been shifted to combat the ongoing pandemic. Esther Ajari, founder and director of The TriHealthon, a Nigeria-based youth-led nonprofit that conducts research and promotes health equity in Africa, detailed some of those takeaways from the Chinese malaria effort in the Comoros Islands in a recent article that was published on the China-Africa Project. She joins Eric and Cobus from her home in Nigeria's southern Delta state to discuss her findings and what lessons can be applied from the fight against malaria to COVID-19.

QZ Africa editor Yinka Adegoke on the current state of China-Africa relations

The China Project — Tue, 29 Sep 2020 20:17:51 +0000

There have been major developments over the past week in the African debt crisis. It appears that Angola and China reached a consensus on how to restructure the estimated $20 billion of loans that Luanda owes Beijing. This deal then paved the way for the IMF to come in with its own financial package for Angola. Meantime, Zambia announced that it will default on three Eurobond notes totaling around $3 billion, prompting an immediate downgrade of its credit rating. Finally, it appears that Kenya's embattled standard gauge railway (SGR) is reaching a breaking point. Kenya Railways is losing almost ten million dollars a month and it looks increasingly likely that the company will not be able to repay the Chinese creditors who financed and built the SGR. Yinka Adegoke, Africa editor of the online financial news site Quartz, is closely following the unfolding debt crisis in Africa and China's role in the situation. He joins Eric and Cobus from the Quartz newsroom in New York to discuss the financial crisis and how it's impacting the broader China-Africa relationship.

Chinese agricultural engagement in Africa

The China Project — Tue, 15 Sep 2020 19:53:09 +0000

China is importing a lot more African agricultural products these days. Zambian blueberries were recently approved to enter the China market, Namibian beef shipments started this year, Ghanaian cocoa is now traded through a new exchange in Hunan Province, and, after more than a year of delays, the first shipments of Kenyan avocados to China has arrived. While enhanced trade ties between the two regions is obviously important, the volume is still way too low to have a meaningful impact on the lives of farmers and millions of others in Africa's agricultural sector. Furthermore, the worsening economic crisis throughout Africa only adds to food insecurity that now haunts at least 70 million people across the continent. Two analysts, one from Kenya and the other from China, have been thinking about what can be done now to address these daunting challenges and how China's agricultural engagement in Africa should evolve in the era following the emergence of COVID-19. Duncan Chando, a Nairobi-based international development consultant, and Cathy Cao, a policy and partnerships analyst at the International Fund for Agricultural Development in Beijing, join Eric and Cobus to discuss their new article, which presents five recommendations for what needs to be done.

How China’s evolving energy mix will impact its foreign policy in Africa

The China Project — Tue, 08 Sep 2020 19:45:30 +0000

Since 2008, China has been gradually shifting its oil procurement strategy away from Africa and toward producers in the Middle East and Persian Gulf. Today, Angola is the only African country on China's list of top 10 suppliers. Security is one reason for the downturn in African oil exports to China. Beijing would much rather bring oil and gas overland from Russia rather than, as it currently does, through the Straits of Malacca, where its sea lanes are vulnerable in the event of a conflict with the United States. Ultimately, China, like many countries, would prefer to reduce its dependence on imported energy and rely more on renewable sources like hydroelectric, solar, and wind power. And in terms of electrification, it’s well on its way. Last year, China generated about a quarter of its total output using renewables. Ye Ruiqi closely follows the Chinese energy market as a Beijing-based climate and energy campaigner for Greenpeace East Asia. She joins Eric and Cobus to discuss the country's rapidly evolving energy landscape.

China-Africa relations in 2020: Perceptions and realities

The China Project — Thu, 03 Sep 2020 20:39:38 +0000

Just by looking at social media and news coverage in countries like Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa, it would be safe to assume that China-Africa ties are in serious trouble. The prevailing narrative in many countries is one where Africa is increasingly victimized by China through debt, labor abuse, and outright discrimination, among other problems. But that's only part of the story. A different narrative showcases how China's political ties with African governments have never been stronger. The Chinese are providing desperately needed relief to struggling African states through debt relief, COVID-19 supplies, and the promise of being among the first to access a vaccine when it's available. Significant portions of both of these are true, which makes it very difficult to understand the current state of China-Africa relations. Hangwei Li, an award-winning journalist and Ph.D. candidate at the University of London, and Johannesburg-based attorney and China-Africa analyst Jacqueline Muna Musiitwa tackled this challenge in a new article published by the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies. Hangwei and Jacqueline join Eric and Cobus to discuss the competing agendas that complicate public perceptions of the Chinese in Africa.

Chinese high school students reflect on anti-African discrimination in Guangzhou

The China Project — Fri, 28 Aug 2020 20:00:16 +0000

It's been almost five months since a spate of anti-African discrimination erupted in Guangzhou, home to the largest overseas African population in Asia. Back in April, amid mounting fears of a COVID-19 outbreak in the southern Chinese city, dozens of African residents were evicted from their homes and hotels and forced onto the streets with nowhere to go. In July, a group of five Chinese high school students, mostly from the eastern city of Suzhou, near Shanghai, traveled to Guangzhou. Their goal was to find out what, if anything, has changed since April in the relations between African residents and the local population. They recorded their experience for a short-form documentary, "Africans in Guangzhou: Misunderstanding, Discrimination, and Communication," which they published in August on YouTube and the Chinese video-sharing platform Bilibili. Two of the film's producers, Chén Xīngbèi 陈星贝 and Xiāo Kǎiyuán 潇凯元, both rising seniors at the Overseas Chinese Academy of Chiway Suzhou, joined Eric and Cobus to discuss their new film and to share their impressions of the current state of Chinese-African community relations in Guangzhou.

Chinese soft power in Africa in the COVID-19 era

The China Project — Wed, 26 Aug 2020 21:21:06 +0000

This year has been tough for China's soft-power engagement in Africa. A furious backlash to anti-African discrimination in Guangzhou in April, growing public hostility to Chinese debt, and, of course, questions about Chinese accountability for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic have all presented formidable challenges to Beijing's reputation management on the continent. While there's no doubt that China's popularity has taken a hit among large swathes of African civil society, that is not the case among the continent's governing elites, where state-to-state relationships remain as strong and stable as ever. Paul Nantulya is a research associate at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies in Washington, D.C. He joins Eric and Cobus to discuss China’s soft-power strategy in Africa and how, in many ways, it's fundamentally different from those of U.S. and European governments.

Africa in the new era of U.S.-China relations

The China Project — Tue, 11 Aug 2020 19:59:45 +0000

African leaders have said repeatedly that they want to stay clear of the escalating conflict between the United States and China. But despite their best efforts, a growing number of African countries are nonetheless being drawn into disputes over Huawei, COVID-19, and debt relief, among other issues. W. Gyude Moore, a former Liberian public works minister and currently a senior policy fellow at the Center for Global Development, and Judd Devermont, the Africa Program director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, have been writing a lot lately on the new geopolitical landscape. They join Eric and Cobus from Washington D.C., to discuss the current state of U.S.-China-Africa relations.

A European perspective on China’s expanding military ties in West Africa

The China Project — Fri, 07 Aug 2020 20:28:55 +0000

Tom Bayes, a researcher at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Berlin, joins Eric and Cobus to discuss his new paper, which explores the implications of China's expanding military role in West Africa for Europe.