The China in Africa Podcast

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WEEK IN REVIEW: Ethiopia Debt Update | China @COP28 | Chinese Energy Projects in Africa Dec 15, 2023

Ethiopia is the latest African country that is now teetering on the verge of default after the government announced this week that it would not be able to make a $33 million bond payment. Eric speaks with Mark Bohlund, a senior research credit analyst at REDD Intelligence, for his take on the situation and the larger debt landscape across the continent.

Plus, Cobus and Geraud break down China's position at the COP28 that wrapped up this week and what impact it will have on Beijing's engagement in the African energy sector.

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Chinese 'Illegal Mining Queen' Jailed in Ghana Dec 08, 2023

Aisha Huang -- a Chinese national with the notorious nickname "Galamsey Queen" -- is now sitting in a Ghanaian prison cell after she was sentenced this week by the High Court in Accra for running a massive illegal mining operation.

The verdict dominated the media this week in Ghana but rather than focus on Huang and her offenses, commentators directed their ire towards wealthy landowners and the government who they feel enable people like Huang and other illegal miners to destroy the environment.

Francis Xavier Tuokuu is a Ghanaian scholar who has done extensive research on illegal mining in West Afric and joins Eric & Cobus to explain why so many people in Ghana were disappointed in the court's verdict and why Huang should spend more time behind bars.

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A Primer on China's Role in the Worsening Zambian Debt Crisis Dec 01, 2023

Zambia's debt restructuring deal that was hailed earlier this year as a "landmark" breakthrough for developing countries is now in shambles. Talks broke down a couple of weeks ago when bilateral creditors led by China and France objected to the terms that bondholders were negotiating with Lusaka on the grounds that private creditors were getting more out of the deal.

Now, three years into this process, Zambia is once again stuck in limbo as rival creditors feud over who will get paid first and how much.

Rachel Savage, Africa senior markets correspondent at Reuters, has been covering the story on a near-daily basis and joins Eric & Geraud to explain why the deal collapsed and what happens next.

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WEEK IN REVIEW: Zambia Debt | Lula's China Diss | China-Africa Journalism Nov 24, 2023

Zambia suffered a major setback this week in its nearly three-year odyssey to restructure $32 billion of debt when the country's bilateral creditors led by China and France pushed back against bondholders. Plus, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva issued a rare diss against China in a commencement speech for new diplomats when he said he tried to avoid Africa being "taken hostage" by China.

Eric, Cobus, and Geraud discuss those issues and are also joined by Bongiwe Tutu, project coordinator at the Africa-China Reporting Project at Wits University, to discuss a series of fascinating journalism conferences that took place this week in Johannesburg.

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[GLOBAL SOUTH] China's Response to the Israel-Hamas War Nov 21, 2023

Prior to the October 7th terrorist attack by Hamas in southern Israel, China had positioned itself as a new power broker in the Middle East. Chinese officials were brimming with confidence after they finalized a détente between Iran and Saudi Arabia earlier this year, hinting they could do the same in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

But in the wake of a full-scale war that's now underway, those same Chinese officials are much more circumspect.

In this week's episode, CGSP Middle East Editor Jony Essa and Eric speak with three of the world's leading China-Mideast scholars to discuss China's response to the war between Israel and Hamas.

First, Gedaliah Afterman, head of the Asia Policy Program at the Abba Eban Institute for International Diplomacy at the Interdisciplinary Center in Israel, and Jonathan Fulton, associate professor of political science at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi, discuss how the war has impacted China's foreign policy towards Israel and Persian Gulf countries.

Then, Bill Figueroa, one of the world's foremost experts on China-Iran relations at the University of Groningen, joins the conversation to talk about whether Beijing can leverage its influence with Iran to sway Hamas.

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Africa is at the Center of U.S.-China Competition for Critical Resources Nov 16, 2023

U.S. lawmakers met this week to discuss how to combat the use of child labor in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's cobalt mining sector which they claim is largely controlled by Chinese mining companies. The issue is part of a larger debate over what the U.S. needs to do to better compete with the Chinese around the world to secure the critical resources that will power next-generation mobility and technology.

The timing of this week's hearings on Capitol Hill coincides with the release of a new report from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) about how African countries can become more engaged in the U.S. clean energy supply chain.

The report's authors, Zainab Usman, director of the Africa program at CEIP, and Alex Csnadi, a research assistant in the Carnegie Africa program, join Eric & Geraud from Washington to discuss how they think the U.S. can close the gap with China for access to Africa's critical resources.

SHOW NOTES:

Read the Carnegie report: How Can African Countries Participate in U.S. Clean Energy Supply Chains?: https://bit.ly/46iXaLN

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X: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @mszeeusman

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[GLOBAL SOUTH] Chinese Overseas Investment: Which Countries Will Benefit Most? Nov 14, 2023

Amid a slowing economy at home, more Chinese companies are now looking to invest abroad in search of higher returns. While there's been a lot of hope in recent years that some of that money would find its way to Africa and other less-developed regions, that's not happening.

Instead, Chinese companies are investing in countries closer to home in Asia, according to Chim Lee, a China analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Chim joins Eric & Cobus from Beijing to discuss the latest trends in Chinese overseas FDI and why Chinese companies are focusing more attention on "de-risking" their investments.

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What the Past Tells Us About the Future of the BRI Nov 10, 2023

There's a widely-held perception in many parts of the U.S., Europe, and India that debt and geopolitics have led to the demise of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). But a landmark new study from AidData proves otherwise, revealing not only that the BRI is still very much alive but it's also undergone major reforms to make it even more competitive.

AidData pored through 21,000 Chinese-backed projects over the past twenty years in 165 countries valued at more than $1.3 trillion.

Ammar Malik, a senior research scientist at AidData, joins Eric & Cobus to discuss the new report and how China is moving to de-risk the BRI as part of a larger effort to outflank its competitors.

SHOW NOTES:

Download the full AidData report: Belt and Road Reboot: Beijing’s Bid to De-Risk Its Global Infrastructure Initiative -- https://bit.ly/47i0tUm

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Chinese Infrastructure Projects in Africa Don't Meet ESG Standards Nov 07, 2023

Two years ago, China introduced a series of new so-called "green guidelines" that it hoped would promote more sustainable development abroad. But in Africa, according to a new research report, it appears those higher environmental, social, and governance (ESG) have been difficult to meet.

Researchers from Boston University's Global Development Policy Center, the Fudan University Green Finance and Development Center, the South African Institute of International Affairs, and LSE IDEAS teamed up to examine ESG standards at five Chinese-funded infrastructure projects in Egypt, Nigeria, and Ethiopia.

Two of the scholars on that team, Cecilia Han Springer and Christoph Nedopil, join Cobus (who also contributed to the research) to discuss their findings and explain why Chinese companies continue to struggle to meet minimum ESG standards in Africa.

SHOW NOTES:

Read the full report: Elevating ESG: Empirical Lessons on Environmental, Social and Governance Implementation of Chinese Projects in Africa: https://bit.ly/46ZHL4d

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X: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @nedopil | @han_cecilia

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New Documentary Humanizes the China-Africa Relationship Nov 01, 2023

Eat Bitter is a new documentary making the rounds of the international film festival circuit that tells the story of two men, one from China and the other from the Central African Republic (CAR), who work on opposite ends of the construction business in the CAR.

The film is generating considerable buzz for the way it humanizes the main characters, providing long-overdue relief from the caricatures that typically frame the China-Africa relationship.

Ningyi Sun, one of Eat Bitter's co-directors, and producer Mathieu Faure join Eric & Geraud to provide a behind-the-scenes perspective on how they conceptualized the documentary and what they're going to do to get it seen by a large, global audience.

SHOW NOTES:

Find out if Eat Bitter is playing at a theater near you: https://www.eat-bitter.com/

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Assessing the Impact of Chinese Media Influence in Africa Oct 26, 2023

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.

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Africa's Strong Presence at China's Belt & Road Forum Oct 20, 2023

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.

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Zimbabwe's Elite Share Their Views on China: What a New Survey Reveals Oct 12, 2023

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

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[GLOBAL SOUTH] Michael Pettis Explains How China's Changing Economy Will Impact the World Oct 10, 2023

China's economy emerged from the pandemic much weaker than before. Unemployment is up, exports are down and a burgeoning property crisis is having a devastating impact on local government finances.

These changes in the economy are happening very fast, so quickly that's it difficult for experts to keep pace with what's happening, much less among those who don't closely follow Chinese economic trends -- particularly in developing countries.

Michael Pettis, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, is one of the world's foremost scholars on the Chinese economy. He joins Eric this week to discuss how the dramatic changes that are now taking place in China will impact countries throughout the Global South.

SHOW NOTES:

Amazon: Trade Wars Are Class Wars: How Rising Inequality Distorts the Global Economy and Threatens International Peace: https://amzn.to/46Iiqel

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What's It Like to Study China-Africa Relations at Harvard University? Oct 06, 2023

Only a handful of universities around the world teach area studies courses in China-Africa relations. It's a field that was once quite popular but less so today as interest in studying Chinese affairs more broadly has fallen precipitously.

Student enrollment, for example, in Chinese language classes in U.S. and European universities has plunged by at least 20% over the past ten years and is still largely non-existent in most higher education programs in the Global South.

But if you're one of the fortunate few to attend Harvard University, you can still study Mandarin and sign up for the class "China and the African Continent." The course instructor, Daniel Koss, an associate senior lecturer and research scholar in the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University, joins Eric & Cobus from Cambridge to discuss the key themes that he's covering in this semester's class.

SHOW NOTES:

"EASTD 199: China and the African Continent" course cover art: https://bit.ly/46G4UrR
Google Scholar: Daniel Koss: https://bit.ly/46zNgG3
Africans on China: africansonchina.com

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Africa at the Intersection of Three Megatrends: China, Climate and Debt Sep 29, 2023

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.

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[GLOBAL SOUTH] How China's Economic Slowdown Impacts Developing Countries Sep 26, 2023

The Chinese economy is in trouble. Exports, manufacturing output, and investment are all down. Unemployment, particularly among young people is up. Provincial debt is now at a record $8 trillion while a burgeoning property crisis has eliminated a once reliable source of revenue for local governments.

The financial difficulties that China is now experiencing have direct implications on dozens, if not hundreds of developing countries around the world that have come to rely on Chinese demand to bolster their own economies.

Lizzi Li, an economist and reporter at the Chinese language television network Wall Street TV, joins Eric & Cobus from New York to discuss what's behind the economic slowdown in China and why it's critical that policymakers and other stakeholders in the Global South learn quickly how to adapt to the new economic realities that are taking shape.

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Chinese Lending to Africa Plunges to 20-Year Low Sep 21, 2023

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.

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[GLOBAL SOUTH] The Downward Spiral of China-India Relations Sep 18, 2023

There was a glimmer of hope last month that China and India would pull back from their increasingly contentious standoff when military commanders concluded talks along their disputed border on a somewhat optimistic note. The hope was that these talks would pave the way for leaders from both countries to meet while they were together at the BRICS summit in Johannesburg.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi did meet briefly in South Africa but it did nothing to stall the downward spiral in relations between the two Asian powers.

Ananth Krishnan, an associate editor at The Hindu newspaper in New Delhi and one of the foremost experts on Sino-Indian relations, joins Eric & Cobus to explain why ties have soured so badly and what to expect going forward.

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WEEK IN REVIEW: AU in G20 and the New "Chinese Savior" Narrative in Africa Sep 15, 2023

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.

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[GLOBAL SOUTH] BRI @ 10: Lessons From Cambodia About Chinese Investment Sep 12, 2023

China's Belt and Road Initiative marked its 10th anniversary this month, prompting a lot of discussion about what's next for Beijing's controversial development agenda. While BRI spending in Africa and the Americas has plummeted in recent years that is not the case closer to home in Southeast Asia.

Cambodia, in particular, stands apart from other countries in terms of its growing dependence on Chinese economic engagement -- both from government-backed BRI projects and private investors who have transformed major cities like Sihanoukville (not always for the better).

Wang Yuan, an assistant professor at Duke Kunshan University, and Linda Calabrese, a research fellow at the Overseas Development Institute, published a paper last month that examined China's hugely important economic presence in Cambodia and join Eric & Cobus to discuss what lessons other developing countries can learn from Phnom Penh's experience.

SHOW NOTES:

World Development: Chinese capital, regulatory strength and the BRI: A tale of ‘fractured development’ in Cambodia: https://bit.ly/3PlXqTU

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Why Boosting Africa-Southeast Asian Trade & Investment Makes So Much Sense Sep 07, 2023

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.

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China's Indispensable Role in Africa's Railway Renaissance Sep 01, 2023

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

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

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[GLOBAL SOUTH] China and the Politics of Global Climate Diplomacy Aug 29, 2023

The failure of G20 countries last month to agree on a plan to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030 highlights a key problem in the ongoing debate over how to respond to climate change: the institutions that are designed to help solve this problem are failing.

It's not clear what China's role was in that debate at the G20 but elsewhere Beijing's actions on combatting climate change are somewhat contradictory. While China is by far the world's leader in renewable energy and green transportation, it's also the world's largest polluter, thanks in part to its reliance on coal power.

This week, Byron Tsang, a London-based senior policy advisor at the independent climate change think tank E3G, and Madhura Joshi, a senior research associate for E3G in Mumbai, join Eric & Cobus to discuss the current state of global climate diplomacy.

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Africa's Prominent Role in the New "BRICS6" Aug 25, 2023

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.

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[GLOBAL SOUTH] China's New, Slimmed-Down Belt & Road Initiative Aug 22, 2023

China's critics contend the Belt and Road Initiative is dead or dying due to a mix of gross mismanagement and hubris. The data, however, reveals a very different story. While lending has definitely decreased considerably from its peak in 2016, the BRI is very much alive -- it just looks very different today than it did even a few years ago.

Instead of expensive large-scale infrastructure projects in Africa, the Americas, and Asia, Chinese lenders are now focusing more on smaller initiatives related to technology, renewable energy, and connectivity. In fact, Chinese creditors lent more money to finance green energy initiatives in the first half of the year than in any other 6-month period since the BRI launched a decade ago.

Christoph Nedopil, founding director of the Green Finance and Development Center at Fudan University has been closely tracking the evolution of the BRI and joins Eric & Cobus to discuss what the latest data on BRI lending reveals about its future.

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BRICS Summit Preview Aug 18, 2023

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.

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[GLOBAL SOUTH] Pivot to Asia: Why the Near Abroad is Now China's Top Priority Aug 15, 2023

For much of the past 20 years, China sought to radically expand its presence beyond its traditional spheres of influence to new regions in Africa, the Americas, and the Middle East. China lent billions to countries in these regions and devoted considerable diplomatic capital to building political influence there as well.

But now, in this new era of Great Power competition with the United States and Europe, China is once again shifting its focus, this time closer to home in Asia. Its so-called "near abroad" is now by far the most consequential region for China both in terms of trade and, increasingly, new security challenges.

Raffaello Pantucci, a senior associate fellow at Britain’s Royal United Services Institute and a visiting senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, is one of the world's leading experts on China's relations in Central Asia and joins Eric & Cobus to discuss why this region, in particular, is now so important to Beijing.

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China's Low-Key Response to the Niger Coup Aug 11, 2023

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.

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Nigerians' (Misplaced) Anxiety About Chinese Debt Aug 03, 2023

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.

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[GLOBAL SOUTH] Is China Setting the Agenda for Global South Debt Restructuring? Aug 01, 2023

In June, Zambia reached what's been described as a landmark debt restructuring deal that for the first time brought together the country's bilateral creditors including China, traditional Paris Club lenders and bondholders.

While the deal is no doubt unprecedented, it also reveals that China was very effective in successful in getting the parties to agree to many of its demands.

Matt Mingey, a senior analyst at the consultancy Rhodium Group, is among the world's foremost experts on Chinese lending and debt issues. He joins Eric & Cobus from Washington, D.C. to discuss whether China is, in fact, setting the agenda for debt restructurings in the Global South.

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What a Railway in Kenya Reveals About How China Builds Things in Africa Jul 27, 2023

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

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China's Tactics and Methods to Influence African Media Jul 20, 2023

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.

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Mapping the Chinese Cobalt Supply Chain in the DR Congo Jul 13, 2023

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

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Bases, Training and Weapon Sales: Latest Trends in China-Africa Military Ties Jul 11, 2023

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

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WEEK IN REVIEW: China and Zambia's Landmark Debt Deal Jun 29, 2023

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.

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[GLOBAL SOUTH] A Primer on the Escalating Tensions in the South China Sea Jun 27, 2023

The South China Sea is one of the world's most strategically vital maritime zones where more than $5 trillion of trade passes through each year -- a whopping 60% of the globe's total maritime commerce. It's also the epicenter of an increasingly contentious geopolitical dispute among more than half a dozen countries over territorial boundaries and who ultimately controls this enormous body of water.

Chinese sovereignty claims over the whole of the South China Sea have provoked furious responses from its regional neighbors and sparked a dangerous duel with the U.S. and other major navies over continued freedom of navigation through the area.

Ray Powell, a former U.S. Air Force colonel, tracks the maneuvers of ships and other vessels operating in the South China Sea on a daily basis as the team lead for Stanford University's Project Myoushu. Ray joins Eric & Cobus from Palo Alto to break down the different territorial claims and why this burgeoning maritime conflict is so incredibly important.

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WEEK IN REVIEW: China's New Green Energy Diplomacy in Africa Jun 24, 2023

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.

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[GLOBAL SOUTH] China's Fanciful Dream to Play Israeli-Palestinian Peacemaker Jun 22, 2023

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas wrapped up a visit to Beijing last week where he heard lofty promises from Chinese officials about their desire to mediate a settlement with Israel. While the visit made for some good headlines, the chances of China jump-starting the stalled peace process are close to zero.

Tuvia Gering, a leading China watcher in Israel and a researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Jerusalem, and Jony Essa, CGSP's Arabic Editor, join Eric and Cobus to discuss the key takeaways from the Abbas visit and explain why China is not well-positioned to broker a settlement between Israelis and Palestinians.

SHOW NOTES:

Sign up for Tuvia Gering's Discourse Power newsletter: https://discoursepower.substack.com

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A Conversation With Judd Devermont, One of the Chief Architects of U.S. Foreign Policy in Africa Jun 15, 2023

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.

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African Demand for Chinese Surveillance Technology Jun 01, 2023

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.

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[WEEK IN REVIEW] Chinese Hacking in Kenya & DRC President Goes to Beijing May 26, 2023

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.

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[GLOBAL SOUTH] Key Lessons From Indonesia's China-Backed Mining & Infrastructure Ventures May 25, 2023

Indonesia is a pioneer among developing countries for its efforts in moving up the EV battery metal value chain. Whereas most other countries like the DR Congo and Chile export raw commodities that are processed elsewhere, Indonesia now requires all of the nickel mined in the country to be processed locally.

But just as in the DRC where the Chinese dominate the cobalt mining sector, a similar dynamic is now playing out in Indonesia.

CGSP's Southeast Asia Antonia Timmerman joins Eric & Cobus from Jakarta to talk about China's controversial role in the Indonesian mining business plus how a new Chinese-backed high-speed railway is generating more concern than excitement.

SHOW NOTES:

Rest of World: The dirty road to clean energy: How China’s electric vehicle boom is ravaging the environment by Antonia Timmerman: https://bit.ly/3OGPP3k
The China-Global South Project: Why Many Indonesians Think Jokowi Fumbled Chinese High-Speed Rail Diplomacy, Even As It Nears Completion by Antonia Timmerman: https://bit.ly/45vx5K1

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South-South Cooperation in Economically Perilous Times May 19, 2023

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.

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Chinese Merchants Are Disrupting Kenya's Business Cartels May 12, 2023

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.

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WEEK IN REVIEW: Life & Art Converge With China's Evacuations From Sudan May 05, 2023

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.

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Understanding China's Role in the Developing World Debt Crisis (Part 2) Apr 28, 2023

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.

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[GLOBAL SOUTH] Update on China's Role in the Burgeoning Global South Debt Crisis Apr 25, 2023

There was a lot of excitement earlier this month at the IMF and World Bank's annual gathering in Washington, D.C. about rumors that the impasse between China and multilateral development banks (MDBs) had been resolved. That stalemate between the Chinese and the MDBs, namely the World Bank, has impeded debt restructuring deals in Sri Lanka, Zambia, and now Ghana among other countries.

But now, two weeks later, there's still no official confirmation from either China or the MDBs that they've settled their differences.

Kevin Gallagher, director of the Global Development Policy Center at Boston University, attended the Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C., and joins Eric & Cobus to give an update on the current state of debt relief for some of the world's poorest countries.

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Bright Simons on Africa in the Era of Great Power Competition Apr 21, 2023

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.

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[GLOBAL SOUTH] U.S.-China Technology Competition in the Global South Apr 18, 2023

The U.S. and China are waging a hard-fought battle today for dominance of global technology standards, particularly in emerging sectors like 5G mobile telecommunications. While China's access to markets in advanced economies is increasingly limited, tech companies like Huawei, ZTE, and Bytedance are rapidly expanding in the Global South.

But the U.S. Congress is adamant to try and limit China's expansion in developing markets by effectively telling countries if you want to work with the U.S., then you can't use Chinese tech.

John Lee is closely following this unfolding competition from Berlin where he's a director at the technology consulting firm East West Futures. John joins Eric & Cobus to discuss what developing countries need to do to avoid becoming collateral damage in the expanding U.S.-China tech duel.

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The Far-Reaching Consequences of China's Demand for African Donkeys Apr 14, 2023

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

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[GLOBAL SOUTH] The Risks and Rewards of China's New Mideast Diplomacy Apr 13, 2023

When China announced in March that it had brokered a landmark agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore diplomatic ties, it took a lot of people by surprise. They just didn't see it coming.

But now, a month later, it appears that the deal is solid. Just last week, the foreign ministers from both countries reconvened in Beijing to finalize the pact and begin the process of reconciliation.

While all of this is very encouraging, William Figueroa, a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Cambridge Centre for Geopolitics and one of the world's foremost Sino-Iran scholars, joins Eric & Cobus to explain why it's still too early to tell if China's new role as the preferred Mideast mediator will succeed.

SHOW NOTES:

William Figueroa on Academia.edu: https://bit.ly/3odawsn
The Diplomat: China and Iran Since the 25-Year Agreement: The Limits of Cooperation by William Figueroa: https://bit.ly/41mfOjN

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African Leaders Push Back Against Western Media Narratives on China Apr 07, 2023

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.

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[GLOBAL SOUTH] What China's Past Tells Us About the Future of its Foreign Policy in Asia Apr 04, 2023

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim both wrapped up state visits to China last week and their discussions with President Xi Jinping revealed some fascinating linkages between contemporary Chinese foreign policy objectives and Beijing's historical perception of its role as Asia's central power.

Antoine Roth, an international relations scholar at Tohoku University in Japan explores those themes in his new book "A Hierarchical Vision of Order: Understanding Chinese Foreign Policy in Asia." He joins Eric & Cobus from Sendai to discuss what lessons can be drawn from China's diplomatic history in Asia that can inform a better understanding of contemporary trends in Chinese foreign policy in other parts of the world.

SHOW NOTES:

Amazon: A Hierarchical Vision of Order: Understanding Chinese Foreign Policy in Asia by Antoine Roth: https://amzn.to/3m532qN

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China's Small but Important Role in Ghana's Debt Crisis Mar 31, 2023

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.

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[GLOBAL SOUTH] China's Lending Money Again to Countries in the Americas Mar 30, 2023

Chinese lending to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean is gaining momentum. For the second year in a row, China's two largest policy banks have increased lending to countries in the region, albeit in much smaller amounts than what they did a decade ago.

At the same time, there's word that China has spent close to a quarter trillion dollars over the past twenty years to bail out dozens of countries struggling to stay afloat under the weight of such much debt.

Margaret Myers, director of the Asia and Latin America program at the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington, D.C., and Rebecca Ray, two of the world's leading experts in Chinese overseas development finance, join Eric to discuss how these two seemingly divergent trends actually align with one another and why the Americas is emerging as a key market for Chinese creditors.

SHOW NOTES:

Inter-American Dialogue: At a Crossroads: Chinese Development Finance to Latin America and the Caribbean, 2022 by Margaret Myers and Rebecca Ray: https://bit.ly/3LYKuTK
Boston University Global Development Policy Center: “Small is Beautiful”: A New Era in China’s Overseas Development Finance?: https://bit.ly/3Hnm8iL

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CAR Attack Sparks New Concerns About Safety of Chinese People in Africa Mar 24, 2023

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

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Reporting Tips for African Journalists Covering China Mar 22, 2023

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

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Africa's Role in China's Evolving Geopolitical Priorities Mar 16, 2023

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.

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[GLOBAL SOUTH] What Lessons Should the U.S. Take From China's Mideast Diplomatic Breakthrough? Mar 16, 2023

This month's surprise announcement that China brokered the restoration of diplomatic relations between longtime rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia prompted widespread excitement in Beijing and considerable consternation among U.S. conservatives. The implication for both is that China's role in the process symbolized the decline of U.S. influence in the region.

Not so says Mohammed Soliman, one of the leading Arab political analysts in Washington, D.C. based at the Middle East Institute and also a manager at McLarty Associates Middle East North Africa Program. Mohammed joins Eric to explain why he thinks the U.S. should not overreact and what lessons policymakers should take from what happened.

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[GLOBAL SOUTH] What to Make of China's Mideast Diplomatic Breakthrough? Mar 15, 2023

New details are emerging about the landmark diplomatic deal brokered by China for Saudi Arabia and Iran to restore diplomatic relations. The initial excitement about the prospects for peace between these two Persian Gulf rivals has given way to a more sober assessment that effectively says the agreement is a good first step but that's about it.

The key test is going to be whether both sides are going to pull back from their proxy fights in places like Yemen. Until that's done, it's still too early to be overly optimistic.

But what does this all say about China's emergence as a key diplomatic power broker? Tuvia Gehring, a researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, and Jacinto Scito, a policy fellow at the London-based Bourse & Bazaar Foundation, are two of the world's foremost scholars on China-Mideast relations and join Eric & Cobus to discuss their reactions to the deal and what it means for China and the wider Middle East.

SHOW NOTES:

The Atlantic Council: Full throttle in neutral: China’s new security architecture for the Middle East by Tuvia Gering: https://bit.ly/3mUNmGQ

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China vs. the Multilateral Development Banks Mar 09, 2023

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

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[GLOBAL SOUTH] Latin America Was Once an Afterthought for China... Not Anymore Mar 07, 2023

In just the past twenty years, China's trade with countries in Latin America and the Caribbean surged 26-fold to almost half-a-trillion dollars. The region is also now a major destination for Chinese foreign investment and becoming a critically important new front in China's geopolitical confrontation with the United States.

While there's no dispute that China is now a major player in the region, knowledge about Chinese engagement in the Americas nonetheless remains surprisingly low, particularly among key stakeholders in Latin America.

A new book, China and Latin America: Development, Agency and Geopolitics by two scholars at the London School of Economics (LSE) aims to change that. Álvaro Méndez, director of LSE's Global South Unit and International Relations Professor Chris Alden join Eric & Cobus to discuss why the Americas is now central to China's global strategy.

SHOW NOTES:

Amazon: China and Latin America: Development, Agency and Geopolitics by Álvaro Méndez and Chris Alden: https://bit.ly/3ZsO502

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WEEK IN REVIEW: China-IMF Debt Standoff | France's "New" Africa Strategy | SA Naval Exercises Mar 02, 2023

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.

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WEEK IN REVIEW: South Africa: Naval Drills | Ghana: Debt Crisis | DRC: Mining Contracts Feb 24, 2023

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.

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[GLOBAL SOUTH] Wang Huiyao on 'China's Misunderstood Foreign Policy' Feb 22, 2023

Senior-level Chinese stakeholders often contend that one of the main reasons for today's heightened geopolitical tensions between China and the West is due to "misunderstandings" of its foreign policy objectives by outsiders.

Chinese distrust is also fueled by a longstanding feeling of victimization by the West and a sense that they've lost the "narrative battle" in international media.

Wang Huiyao, president and founder of the Beijing-based think tank Centre for China and Globalisation, wants to change that. In a recent column published in the South China Morning Post newspaper, Wang called on Chinese scholars, analysts, and others to "embrace the global internet if it wants to reclaim its narrative."

Wang joins Eric & Cobus to discuss why he thinks China has such a difficult time in communicating its agenda with the rest of the world.

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What the New Port of Lekki in Nigeria Tells Us About the Future of Chinese Infrastructure Finance in Africa Feb 17, 2023

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.

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[GLOBAL SOUTH] China, Latin America, and the Rise of a New Non-Aligned Movement Feb 17, 2023

During the first Cold War, a large group of developing countries sought to distance themselves from the ideological battle between the United States and the Soviet Union to create a Non-Aligned Movement.

Today, three decades later, at the dawn of yet another Great Power competition, this time between the U.S. and China, Global South countries are once again saying they don't want any part of it.

Jorge Heine, a former Chilean ambassador to China and now a research professor at Boston University joins Eric & Cobus to discuss the new book he co-edited about how this new movement is taking root in the Americas, Asia, and Africa.

Show Notes:

Amazon: Latin American Foreign Policies in the New World Order: The Active Non-Alignment Option: https://amzn.to/3lJrQ7q
The Conversation: When two elephants fight: how the global south uses non-alignment to avoid great power rivalries by Adekeye Adebajo: https://bit.ly/3YC3PO7

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It's Getting Tougher for African Students to Get a PhD in China Feb 10, 2023

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.

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How the U.S. Aims to Compete With China in Critical Resource Mining Feb 08, 2023

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.

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The Role of Chinese Solar Technology in Africa's Just Energy Transition Feb 03, 2023

China is by far the world's dominant producer of solar power technology which is becoming increasingly popular in places like Africa that are under mounting pressure to transition from reliance on fossil fuels to new, greener renewable sources of energy.

Nicola Licata, a Shanghai-based project manager at the U.S. consultancy Clean Energy Associates, and her Washington, D.C.-based colleague, Associate Engineer Raiene Santana, discuss China's outsized role in the solar power supply chain and the challenges that U.S. and European governments are going to face in financing "Just Energy Transition" projects on the continent that don't include Chinese solar tech.

Also, Eric & Cobus try to figure out why one of the Biden administration's top diplomats, Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield, is so off-base when it comes to China in Africa.

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[GLOBAL SOUTH] What's Driving the Steady Decline in Chinese Overseas Development Lending? Feb 01, 2023

There was a time when Chinese lending to developing countries rivaled the World Bank. Those days are now long gone as Chinese overseas development lending has been on a steady downward trajectory.

New data from Boston University's Global Development Policy Center (GDPC) reports that in 2020-2021, China granted just 28 loan commitments worth just $10.5 billion -- a small fraction of what was lent in the early 2010s.

Rebecca Ray, a senior researcher at GDPC, and Tarela Moses, a data analyst at the center's Global China Initiative join Eric from Boston to discuss the latest trends in Chinese development finance and specifically why Beijing has become much more risk-averse.

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A New Era of U.S. and Chinese Engagement in Africa is Now Underway Jan 27, 2023

This was a big week for both the U.S. and China in Africa as both major powers' new, more robust engagement strategies were on full display. For the U.S., two cabinet secretaries toured the region this week, while Chinese officials in several African countries were on hand to commission a suite of large infrastructure projects.

Ken Opalo, an assistant professor at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, joins Eric & Cobus from Washington to discuss how the heightened activity from both the U.S. and China indicates an important evolution of their foreign policies towards the continent.

SHOW NOTES:

Subscribe to Ken Opalo's Substack newsletter: An Africanist Perspective newsletter by Ken Opalo: kenopalo.substack.com
An Africanist Perspective: The Future of Sino-African Relations by Ken Opalo: https://bit.ly/40561i9
The Standard: Why it's time to reset Africa and America relations by Ken Opalo: https://bit.ly/3H9LCQh

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Why More Young Chinese Professionals Are Looking For Work in Africa Jan 19, 2023

Near record high levels of youth unemployment in China is prompting more young graduates to look abroad for work, particularly in Africa. Recruiters say they can't find enough people to work in both private companies and Chinese state-owned enterprises as translators, accountants, and other administrative roles.

While moving so far away from home isn't ideal for a lot of young people, it's also hard to resist the higher salaries, generous benefits, and the adventure of living overseas, according to freelance journalist Li Yijuan for a story she wrote last month on this trend for the English-language Chinese news site Sixth Tone.

Yijuan, herself a soon-to-be young graduate, joins Eric & Cobus from the eastern Algerian city of Amenas to discuss her own experience and why Africa is becoming a popular destination for young Chinese professionals.

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[GLOBAL SOUTH] Pepe Zhang on What to Expect This Year in China-Latin America Relations Jan 16, 2023

China's two-way trade with countries in the Americas increased 8% last year to $486 billion, nearly twice the volume of what China does in Africa. South America is now a vital source of food, energy, and strategic minerals for China, while markets like Brazil are attracting record amounts of Chinese investment.

Meantime, China's growing presence in Latin America and the Caribbean region is also making the U.S. increasingly uncomfortable given that many people in Washington, D.C. still believe that the Western hemisphere remains America's traditional sphere of influence.

But despite China's enormous economic engagement in the region and the geopolitical concerns in the U.S., Pepe Zhang, a senior fellow at The Atlantic Council and one of DC's top China-Americas watchers, contends that China's surging influence is still not getting the attention that it deserves. He joins Eric & Cobus from Washington, D.C. to explain why.

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Hannah Ryder on What to Expect This Year in China-Africa Relations Jan 12, 2023

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.

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The 2022 Africa-China Year in Review With Gyude Moore Dec 23, 2022

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.

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[GLOBAL SOUTH] New Report Debunks Chinese Debt Trap Narrative in Sri Lanka Dec 18, 2022

The Chinese debt trap narrative was started based on the purported surrender of the Port of Hambantota in Sri Lanka. When Colombo fell behind in its payments to the China Exim Bank for the loan, the story goes, Beijing seized the port as collateral.

Now, six years later, a pair of Sri Lankan researchers, Umesh Moramudali and Thilina Panduwawala gained access to the original China Exim Bank loan documents for the port and confirmed that the Chinese predatory lending narrative, as it's been told, just isn't true.

The pair join Eric & Cobus to discuss their new report that debunks many of the myths surrounding Chinese lending to Sri Lanka, specifically related to the controversial port.

SHOW NOTES:

The China-Africa Research Initiative: Evolution of Chinese Lending to Sri Lanka Since the mid-2000s: Separating Myth from Reality by Umesh Moramudali and Thilina Panduwawala: https://bit.ly/3PF1cHr
The Diplomat: Demystifying China's role in Sri Lanka's debt restructuring by Umesh Moramudali and Thilina Panduwawala: https://bit.ly/3v4r3iH

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China's Long Shadow Over the U.S.-Africa Summit Dec 16, 2022

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.

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[GLOBAL SOUTH] Bad Takes: What the News Media Got Wrong About Xi's Trip to Saudi Arabia Dec 13, 2022

So much of the international news coverage of Xi Jinping's three-day visit last week to Saudi Arabia was framed in the context of the broader U.S.-China rivalry. The Saudis and other Arab states, according to the prevailing narrative, were pivoting away from their decades-long relationship with the U.S. to embrace China.

But suggesting that some kind of grand geopolitical realignment is taking place in the Middle East is just wrong says Jonathan Fulton, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and one of the world's foremost scholars on China-Mideast relations.

Jonathan joins Eric & Cobus from Abu Dhabi to explain why journalists should have instead focused more attention on the strategic interests of individual Arab countries.

Show Notes:

The Routledge Handbook on China–Middle East Relations by Jonathan Fulton: https://bit.ly/3URm5QU
The China-MENA Podcast: https://bit.ly/3Fm3NBv

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Worrisome Demographic Trends in China and Africa Dec 09, 2022

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.

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[GLOBAL SOUTH] Why U.S. Diplomacy is Struggling to Compete With China in the Global South Dec 06, 2022

40 countries around the world currently do not have U.S. ambassadors. The corner offices have been empty for months, even years at U.S. embassies in major regional powers like India and Saudia Arabia. Even Italy, a G7 country, doesn't have a U.S. ambassador in place.

The hold-up in getting ambassadors confirmed by the Senate is the consequence of Washington's dysfunctional politics that's adversely impacting the U.S. and its effort to compete with China for influence around the world, particularly in developing countries.

Politico's Senior Foreign Affairs Correspondent Nahal Toosi traveled to Panama earlier this year to report on how U.S. diplomacy is struggling to keep up with China's engagement in the region. She joins Eric & Cobus from Washington, D.C. to discuss her special report on the issue.

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Why It Isn't China's Fault Its Trade With Africa Is so Distorted Dec 02, 2022

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.

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[GLOBAL SOUTH] Can China's Surveillance State Governance Model Be Exported Abroad? Nov 30, 2022

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.

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U.S.-China Technology Competition in Africa Nov 25, 2022

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

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[GLOBAL SOUTH] A Look Back on a Week of Intense Chinese Diplomacy in Southeast Asia Nov 22, 2022

Chinese President returned home from a week of intense diplomacy in Indonesia and Thailand where he attended a pair of summits and held more than a dozen bilaterals with other international leaders.

Both the G20 Summit in Bali and the subsequent APEC leaders summit in Bangkok served as the first time the President was back on the international stage with some of his Western rivals since the beginning of the pandemic.

Collin Koh, a Research Fellow at the Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies in the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University, joins Eric & Cobus to share his views on President Xi's performance and to review what was accomplished at the various summits that took place in Southeast Asia over the past couple of weeks.

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[WEEK IN REVIEW] Will China and Wealthy Countries Pay For Climate Damage in the Global South? Nov 18, 2022

Join us for a very lively end-of-week show where Eric, Cobus, and Geraud get into a spirited debate over whether China, India, and wealthy countries will pay for the damage they've caused to poor countries in Africa and elsewhere from global climate change.

Geraud, like many in Kenya, is also baffled over the terms of Kenya's multi-billion loan agreement with China to build the Standard Gauge Railway and Cobus shares some insights on Africa's presence at this week's G20 summit in Indonesia.

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A Conversation with Molly Phee, the Top U.S. Diplomat for Africa Nov 11, 2022

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

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Emerging Trends and Myths in Africa-China Relations: Live From Johannesburg Nov 08, 2022

[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

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[GLOBAL SOUTH] The U.S.-China Battle For Ideas in the Global South Oct 25, 2022

Both the United States and China have restructured their respective foreign policy establishments in recent years to be better poised to confront each other.

In the just concluded 20th Party Congress in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping clearly telegraphed a more aggressive stance towards his U.S. rivals. The U.S. articulated much the same in its latest National Security Strategy released in October that clearly named China as its "most consequential geopolitical challenge.”

Jake Werner, a research fellow in the East Asia program at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft in Washington, D.C., joins Eric & Cobus to discuss how this rivalry is playing out in the developing world where a battle for ideas is now underway.

SHOW NOTES:

Sinification: Chinese experts react to the U.S.’s National Security Strategy by Thomas des Garets Geddes: https://bit.ly/3VWRt23
Politico: ‘Frustrated and powerless’: In fight with China for global influence, diplomacy is America’s biggest weakness bu Nahal Toosi: https://politi.co/3TTlIVW

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Where Does Africa Fit in Xi Jinping's New Foreign Policy Oct 21, 2022

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.

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[GLOBAL SOUTH] Despite Huge Problems, Pakistan Remains Indispensable to China Oct 18, 2022

It has been a difficult year for China in Pakistan. A burgeoning economic crisis in the South Asian country threatens to undermine the multibillion dollar China Pakistan Economic Corridor development initiative while anti-Chinese terrorism has surged in recent months.

But amid these serious challenges, there's no indication that ties between Beijing and Islamabad have strained. Ammar Malik, a senior research scientist at AidData, closely follows Sino-Pakistani relations and joins Eric & Cobus to explain why this relationship is so durable.

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Debt in Africa: Everyone's Watching What China Does in Zambia Oct 13, 2022

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.

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[GLOBAL SOUTH] China and India's Steadily Deteriorating Relationship Oct 11, 2022

It wasn't that long ago that many people thought the longtime rivalry between India and China had begun to subside. In fact, Xi Jinping traveled to India in 2019, his second visit as president, for a profile, seemingly amicable summit with Narendra Modi. But a lot can change in three years.

Today, ties between the two Asian giants are bad and getting worse. Both countries are locked in a bitter stand-off along their disputed border high above in the Himalayas and are engaged in seemingly daily disputes over trade, technology, and geopolitical issues.

And experts like The Hindu newspaper's China correspondent Ananth Krishnan contend there's no indication the situation is going to improve anytime soon. Ananth joins Eric & Cobus from Beijing to explain why ties between these two countries have soured so much.

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Amazon: India's China Challenge: A Journey through China's Rise and What It Means for India by Ananth Krishnan: https://amzn.to/3yv3f9M

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Africa Again is the Backdrop for a Chinese Blockbuster Movie Oct 07, 2022

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

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What Does Kenya's SGR Tell Us About the Future of Chinese Railway Development in the Global South Oct 04, 2022

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.

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Nosmot Gbadamosi on US-China Competition in Africa, Debt and "Preventative Infrastructure" Sep 30, 2022

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.

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[GLOBAL SOUTH] Why the U.S. And Israel Are Not Aligned on China Sep 27, 2022

Israel and China are reportedly in the final stages of negotiating a free trade agreement that both sides say will be done before the end of the year. This may come as a surprise to some given how relations between the two countries have been a bit rocky this past year over issues related to Taiwan, Xinjiang, and pressure from the U.S.

But Israeli officials have made it clear to the U.S. that while they understand why Beijing makes them nervous, the Jewish State simply does not share those same concerns.

Alexander Pevzner, an adjunct lecturer at the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy & Strategy at Reichman University near Tel Aviv, joins Eric & Cobus to provide an update on the current state of Sino-Israeli ties and why the U.S. and Israel are not fully aligned when it comes to China.

CORRECTION: In this episode, Eric stated there are now direct flights between Saudi Arabia and Israel which is not correct. Instead, the two countries agreed that Saudi Arabia would open its airspace to flights to/from Israel.

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African Leaders, China Made It Clear This Week They're Unhappy With the Current International System Sep 23, 2022

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.

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Navigating the Belt & Road With a New Digital Toolkit Sep 20, 2022

October marks the 9th anniversary of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and after all these years, nearly a decade later, many people around the world are still trying to figure out what exactly the BRI is. What is certain, though, is that China has pulled back considerably on BRI-related financing in many parts of the world, particularly in Africa and the Americas.

But in Asia, it's a different story. Chinese lenders are still plowing billions of dollars to build badly-needed infrastructure and that prompted the New York-based Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) to try and help stakeholders on all sides with a new BRI digital tool kit.

Blake Berger, ASPI associate director, was on the team that built the new toolkit and joins Eric and Cobus to explain what it is and how it's intended to be used.

SHOW NOTES:

Asia Society Policy Institute: Navigating the Belt and Road Initiative Toolkit: https://bit.ly/3BvHuqW

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Introducing the China-Global South Podcast Sep 16, 2022

Every week, The China-Global South Podcast will explore timely issues surrounding China's engagement in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, and other developing regions. Hosted by China-Global South Editor in Chief Eric Olander in Vietnam and Managing Editor Cobus van Staden in South Africa, this new program will highlight insights and ideas from leading experts in the Global South.

To help kick off the show, Eric & Cobus are joined by Kaiser Kuo, host of the venerable Sinica Podcast, to discuss what motivated the team to launch this new program and what they're hoping it will achieve.

THIS WEEK'S RECOMMENDATIONS:

ERIC:

Gyude Moore, Senior Policy Fellow at the Center for Global Development: @gyude_moore
Hannah Ryder, CEO of Development Reimagined: @hmryder
Ovigue Eguegu, Policy Analyst at Development Reimagined: @ovigweeguegu
Christian-Geraud Neema, Francophone Editor at the China-Global South Project: @christiangeraud

COBUS:

Amazon: The Specter of Global China: Politics, Labor, and Foreign Investment in Africa by Ching Kwan Lee: https://amzn.to/3RMTKu8

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China and the Race to Dominate EV Battery Supply Chains Sep 13, 2022

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

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Week in Review: Illegal mining in Ghana, US Disillusionment in the DRC & #ChinaAfricaSpaceTalk Sep 09, 2022

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

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Why Zainab Usman is Cautiously Optimistic About the New U.S. Policy For Africa Sep 01, 2022

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

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Update on the Chinese Cobalt Stand-off in the DR Congo Aug 25, 2022

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.

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Africa in the New Era of U.S.-China Great Power Competition Aug 23, 2022

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

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Week in Review: Kenya elections, Chinese mining woes in DRC & Xi Jinping's travels Aug 18, 2022

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

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Week in Review: Kenya Elections, Zambian Debt & Blinken's Africa Tour Aug 11, 2022

The Chinese government pushed back this week against the U.S. and its new foreign policy strategy for Africa. The Foreign Ministry dismissed Washington's emphasis on democracy as mere rhetoric, while the railways, roads, and other infrastructure that China's built speak for itself.

Also this week, a senior U.S. official again accused China of engaging in predatory lending in Africa without apparently knowing that Beijing also led a landmark debt restructuring deal for Zambia.

Emmanuel Matambo, research director at the Centre for Africa-China Studies at the University of Johannesburg, has been closely following these events and joins Eric & Cobus to share his insights on what was a very busy week. Plus, he also reflects on the politics in Kenya where voters went to the polls to select a new president.

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Afrobarometer CEO Joseph Asunka on Public Perceptions of the U.S. & China in Africa Aug 10, 2022

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

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Week in Review: Taiwan, Tesla and Antony Blinken's Upcoming Africa Tour Aug 04, 2022

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.

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African Exploitation Videos Are Big Business on Chinese Social Media Jul 29, 2022

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

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China's Discourse Power in Africa and the Global South Jul 15, 2022

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

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It Was a Bad, Very Bad Week For Chinese Mining in Africa Jul 08, 2022

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.

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A Discussion With the Journalists Behind the BBC Doc "Racism For Sale" Jun 30, 2022

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

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How Did China Do in Its First Horn of Africa Peace Conference? Jun 25, 2022

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.

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A Conversation With Huang Ping, China's Consul General in New York Jun 16, 2022

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.

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Africa in the Era of Great Power Competition Jun 10, 2022

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.

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The Politics of Chinese-financed Infrastructure Development in East Africa Jun 03, 2022

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

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U.S.-China Tech Competition in the Middle East May 27, 2022

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

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Magalie Masamba on What It's Going to Take to Resolve Africa's Debt Distress May 20, 2022

Until a few years ago, before the pandemic, most African economies were among the world's best performing in terms of debt. Revenues were sufficient and debt-to-GDP levels were largely well below the IMF's 50% threshold.

But today, that is no longer the case. Many of the continent's largest economies are in a desperate struggle to avoid getting sucked into a debt spiral where they're borrowing more and more just to repay loans. That, plus the challenges brought on by surging food prices, weakening currencies and, of course, the effects of the ongoing pandemic all make this a very difficult time.

So what can be done? Two scholars, Daniel Bradlow from the University of Pretoria and Magalie Masamba, a Global China Post-doctoral Research Fellow at the Boston University Global Development Policy Center, have come up with five practical recommendations for what they think governments need to do to tackle the burgeoning debt challenge.

Magalie joins Eric & Cobus to discuss the sovereign crisis in some African countries with a particular focus on China's role.

Show Notes:

The China-Global South Project: 5 Recommendations for Tackling the Sovereign Debt Challenge in Southern Africa by Daniel Bradlow and Magalie Masamba: https://bit.ly/3LwGHZR
The Conversation: Debt distress in Africa: biggest problems, and ways forward by Daniel Bradlow and Magalie Masamba: https://bit.ly/3wxKm5D

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Update on the Current State of China-Nigeria Ties With Efem Ubi May 17, 2022

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari had envisioned leaving office with vast amounts of shiny new Chinese-financed infrastructure built throughout the country. That's not going to happen. China has lost its appetite for large-scale development projects in Nigeria leaving some $15 billion of rail and other initiatives unfunded.

But that doesn't mean that Nigeria still isn't very important to China's broader Africa agenda. Chinese companies are attracted to the large consumer market, its political heft at the African Union and the fact that Nigeria is home to some of the continent's largest technology hubs.

This week, Efem Ubi from the Nigerian Association of International Affairs joins Eric & Cobus from Lagos to discuss Nigeria's complex relationship with China and where it stands today.

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Lightning Round: U.S. Summits, Huawei and Chinese Mining in the DRC May 13, 2022

In this Lightning Round edition of the show, CAP Managing Editor Cobus van Staden and CAP Francophone Editor Geraud Neema break down three of the week's big stories.

First, Cobus explains why African leaders would be well advised to closely follow the events at this week's U.S.-ASEAN summit in Washington, D.C. Then, the State Department's #2 official, Wendy Sherman, restated longstanding warnings about the risks African countries face when they use Huawei equipment. Finally, Geraud breakdown a complex mining dispute between a Chinese and an Australian company over which one will control a massive new lithium mine in the DRC.

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China and the Future of Environmental Governance in Ghana May 10, 2022

Ghana's worsening economic crisis is prompting concerns it will further erode the country's already weak environmental governance system that Chinese actors have profited from in the mining, fishing, and timber sectors. Meantime, local communities across the country suffer amid declining fish stocks, polluted waterways, and unregulated deforestation.

Francis Xavier Tuokuu, a leading environmental scholar and a research fellow at the Ghana-based Afro-Sino Centre of International Relations contends that until there is new and better leadership that is actually willing to crack down on the corruption that Chinese and others use to their advantage, there is little hope the situation will improve.

Francis joins Eric & Cobus from Keene, New Hampshire to discuss what, if anything, can be done.

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Huawei in North Africa: Lots of Good PR, Not a Lot of Tech Transfer May 06, 2022

Huawei's success in Africa is undeniable. It's built large swathes of the continent's telecom network and is an indispensable player at almost every layer of the African technology stack. But when it comes to transferring skills and technology, the company's record is a bit more checkered.

Tin Hinane El Kadi, a doctoral student at the London School of Economics and an associate fellow at Chatham House, contends in a new report published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace that in both Algeria and Egypt Huawei, Huawei generates a lot of good press about tech transfers but in reality does very little. Tin joins Eric & Cobus from London to discuss her findings and what's behind this apparent discrepancy.

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State of the BRI and the Messy Politics of a "Just Climate Transition" Apr 29, 2022

China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is undergoing some dramatic changes as Beijing pulls back on the massive loans that once defined it as the government is now forced to channel more funds domestically to bolster the country's slowing economy.

Nowhere is that more evident than in Africa where we learned this week that lending in 2020 plunged 77% from the previous year to just $1.9 billion, a 16-year low.

Cynthia Liao, a Schwarzman Academy Fellow in the Africa program at the London think tank Chatham House, has been closely following BRI developments in Africa and joins Eric & Cobus for a wide-ranging discussion on debt, climate change, and geopolitics.

SHOW NOTES:

Boston University: Chinese Loans to Africa Database: https://bit.ly/3Ls8dbZ

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The Port of Mombasa Was Never at Risk of Being Seized by China Apr 26, 2022

A 2018 leaked report from Kenya's Auditor General sparked a years-long frenzy over whether the Port of Mombasa was put up as collateral against the loans from the China Exim Bank for the Standard Gauge Railway and could be seized in the event of a default.

The story is now a foundational part of the "debt trap" lending narrative that continues to cloud Chinese infrastructure financing in Africa.

A team led by Professor Deborah Brautigam, director of the China-Africa Research Initiative at Johns Hopkins University, spent the past two years researching the issue and concluded in a new report that the Auditor General was wrong in his assessment. Neither the Port of Mombasa nor any Kenyan asset was ever at risk of forfeiture to the Chinese.

Deborah and two of her research colleagues, Vijay Bhalaki from Athena Infonomics and Paris-based attorney Laure Deron, join Eric & Cobus to discuss their findings.

SHOW NOTES:

The East African: Mombasa Port at risk as audit finds it was used to secure SGR loan: https://bit.ly/3Lgz76w
The China-Africa Research Initiative: How Africa Borrows From China: And Why Mombasa Port is Not Collateral for Kenya's Standard Gauge: https://bit.ly/37D6i5H

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Lessons For South Africa From China's Tech Hub in Shenzhen Apr 22, 2022

As South African policymakers plot their country's economic revival from the past several years of worsening economic crisis, boosting the country's tech industry is going to play a pivotal role in their plans. Grace Yuehan Wang, a researcher at the South African National Research Foundation and a postdoctoral scholar at Stellenbosch University says China's mega technology hub Shenzhen could offer some valuable insights.

Plus, CAP's Francophone Editor Geraud Neema joins us to discuss the 20-year prison sentence that was handed down to a Chinese national for brutally beating a Rwandan employee last year.

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Is It Time for a New Non-Aligned Movement? Apr 20, 2022

This week marks the 67th anniversary of the Bandung Conference in Indonesia which brought together 29 Asian and African countries at the height of the Cold War and marked the beginning of what would later become the Non-Aligned Movement. Back then, more than a hundred countries were a part of this movement to avoid being drawn into the U.S.-Soviet dual and to foster greater ties within the so-called "Third World."

Today, as Russia's ties with the U.S. revert to their Cold War chilliness and the U.S. standoff with China intensifies, there are new calls to revive the Non-Aligned Movement among developing countries. Former Chilean Ambassador and Boston University Research Professor Jorge Heine is among the most vocal proponents of creating what he calls "Non-Aligned 2.0."

Ambassador Heine joins Eric & Cobus to explain why the time is right for countries in the Global South to start working more closely together with one another.

SHOW NOTES:

Africa, Latin America and the Active Non-Alignment Option by Jorge Heine: https://bit.ly/37pI0fq
Ukraine Sanctions and the New Non-Aligned Movement by Cobus van Staden: https://bit.ly/3kcHdkN

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A Discussion With Elizabeth Economy About the World According to China Apr 15, 2022

Acclaimed China scholar Elizabeth Economy join Eric & Cobus this week to discuss her new book for 2022 "The World According to China." It's important to note the interview with Elizabeth was recorded before Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the expanded outbreak of COVID-19 in China but it's nonetheless fascinating to see how prescient many of her comments were in the context of the current situation.

Also, Cobus and Eric provide an update on the latest Chinese trade figures and how the severe flooding in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province may impact China's trade with Africa in the weeks ahead. Finally, CAP's Francophone Editor Geraud Neema joins the guys for an update on the new challenges facing Chinese mining companies in Guinea.

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China, Africa and a New Alternative International Order Apr 13, 2022

There's an emerging consensus among many leading international relations scholars that Russia's invasion of Ukraine marked the official end of the post-Cold War era and the beginning of, well... actually... no one's actually sure what's coming next but whatever it is China is definitely going to play a central role.

China's framing of this emerging alternative international order is happening right now in Africa and the Middle East, according to a new book by Dawn Murphy, an associate professor at the U.S. Air War College. She joins Eric & Cobus from Alabama to discuss why these two regions, in particular, are so important to China's long-term geopolitical agenda.

SHOW NOTES:

Sandboxx: China Wants a Navy Base in Africa That Would Put America’s East Coast in Reach by Alex Hollings: https://bit.ly/37MnxkI

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Can the "Shanghai Model" Solve the Global South Debt Crisis? Apr 08, 2022

During the last major Global South debt crisis in the late 1980s, the United States pioneered an initiative that bundled together all of these countries' debts into a bond that would then be re-packaged and sold to investors. These so-called "Brady Bonds" were very effective in giving many of the poorest, most indebted countries the breathing room they needed to recover.

Now, as developing countries are confronting yet another debilitating debt crisis, an update to the Brady Bond idea is now circulating but this time it's coming from China, not the U.S.

Just like a Brady Bond, the so-called Shanghai Model would roll up poor countries' debt into a bond asset and then sell it to investors. But there's a catch: rather than price it in dollars, the Shanghai Model would use Chinese yuan.

Economists Ying Qian and Yan Wang from Boston University's Global Development Policy Center have been writing a lot lately about the Shanghai Model and exploring its viability. Ying joins Eric & Cobus from Washington, D.C. to discuss whether it really can replicate the success of the Brand Bond.

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The Ukraine War and Great Power Politics in the Global South Apr 01, 2022

While the war in Ukraine has done a lot to repair the West's once frayed alliance, it's also brought together a disparate group of countries throughout the Global South who have resisted condemning Russia for the invasion and Moscow's brutal assault on civilian populations.

To those small and mid-sized countries, picking a side in this conflict is a luxury many feel they simply cannot afford given the powerful geopolitical currents that are now in motion. Nowhere is this more evident than in Africa where around half the continent sought to abstain from the two UN votes to condemn Russia and many more have sought to stay out of the fray among the competing power centers in Moscow, Beijing, Washington, and Brussels.

Sam Ramani, an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London, is one of the world's foremost experts on Russia's ties with Africa and other Global South regions. He joins Eric & Cobus from Oxford to discuss the dramatic impact that the war is having on the geopolitical landscape in Africa.

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New Trends in Chinese Overseas Development Finance Mar 25, 2022

In less than six years, China's financing of overseas energy projects in the Global South plunged from $35 billion to zero, according to new data released this week from Boston University's Global Development Policy Center. BU's findings mirror a broader pullback in official Chinese lending in other sectors as well, indicating a profound change in Chinese international development finance.

To be sure, China is still extending loans to developing countries but they're smaller and require much more rigorous feasibility studies.

Kevin Gallagher and Cecilia Han Springer from the Global Development Policy Center join Eric & Cobus this week to discuss their new dataset on Chinese energy financing and share some of their insights published in an accompanying policy brief on the latest trends in Chinese development finance.

SHOW NOTES:

China's Energy Finance Database: https://bit.ly/3ukFlLi
Outlier or New Normal? Trends in China’s Global Energy Finance : https://bit.ly/35cR1r0

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China, Europe and the Geopolitics of African Renewable Energy Mar 18, 2022

Both China and the European Union have identified renewable energy as a key part of their engagement strategies with Africa. At FOCAC last year, the Chinese vowed to increase investment in solar, hydro, and other green technologies while the EU made sustainability a centerpiece of its new Global Gateway development initiative.

With both sides pursuing similar objectives, it's not surprising renewable energy is now being seen as yet another front in the larger great power rivalry dynamic with African countries stuck in the middle.

But a trio of authors at the European Center for Development Policy Management (ECDPM), a Brussels-based think tank, argues in a new report that it would be a huge mistake for EU leaders to frame green energy transition initiatives in Africa in competition with China. One of the authors of that report, Alfsono Medinilla, ECDPM's Head of Climate and Green Transition, joins Eric & Cobus to explain why.

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An Update on China-Kenya Ties With Journalist Eliud Kibii Mar 11, 2022

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.

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China Exim Bank's Controversial Loan to Expand Uganda's Entebbe Airport Mar 04, 2022

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.

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AidData Report on the Chinese Loan Contract for the Entebbe Airport Expansion Project: https://bit.ly/35BQiiE

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U.S., European Tech Competition With China in Africa Feb 25, 2022

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.

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Motolani's Paper: China’s Digital Silk Road and Africa’s Technological Future -- https://on.cfr.org/36FJvoU

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Chinese Demand for Illegal Rosewood Leads to Deforestation in Cameroon Feb 18, 2022

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.

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Contact The Museba Project: www.themusebaproject.org

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Chinese Corporate Communications in Africa Feb 11, 2022

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.

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The Future of Chinese Infrastructure Finance in Africa Feb 04, 2022

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

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An Update on Chinese Diplomacy in the Middle East With Jonathan Fulton Jan 28, 2022

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.

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How China's Economic and Security Interests Converge in Africa Jan 21, 2022

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.

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Investigating Chinese Corruption in the DRC Linked to the "Deal of the Century" Jan 14, 2022

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

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Taking Stock of Wang Yi's Tour of East Africa & Indian Ocean States Jan 11, 2022

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.

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Why South Africa Remains China's Most Important Relationship in Africa Jan 07, 2022

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.

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The 2021 Africa-China Year in Review Dec 24, 2021

Join Eric & Cobus for the annual Year in Review/Year Ahead Preview special episode where they each three stories that shaped Africa-China relations in 2021 and one story to watch in the year ahead.

Plus, they also discuss the Trevor Noah controversy where the host of the popular Comedy Central program The Daily Show published a riff on China-Africa relations that was riddled with inaccuracies and misinformation.

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Chinese Involvement in the "Congo Hold-Up" Corruption Scandal Dec 17, 2021

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.

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DOUBLE EPISODE: Andy Mok Reflects on FOCAC Plus a Discussion About Bad China-Africa Journalism Dec 15, 2021

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.

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With China on the Sidelines, What's Next for African Infrastructure Financing? Dec 10, 2021

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. Johsnon joins Eric & Cobus from Nairobi to discuss why he thinks more private sector participation is going to make the difference.

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Why the Era of Low-Cost Imports From China May be Coming to an End in Africa Dec 08, 2021

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.

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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

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FOCAC 8 Recap & Review Dec 03, 2021

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.

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China's Growing Role in Multilateral Development Banks Nov 26, 2021

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

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FOCAC 8 Preview: The Trade Agenda Nov 23, 2021

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 Nov 19, 2021

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 Nov 16, 2021

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.

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What Does the U.S. Need To Do to Effectively Compete With China’s Digital Silk Road? Nov 12, 2021

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 Nov 05, 2021

[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
SupChina: 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 Nov 03, 2021

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 Oct 29, 2021

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.

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Anzetse Were on the Current State of China-Africa Economic Relations Oct 26, 2021

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.

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Folashadé Soulé on West Africa's Priorities at FOCAC 8 Oct 22, 2021

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

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The Messy Politics of Building a Railway in Kenya With Chinese Money Oct 20, 2021

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.

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Lightning Round: Africa-France Summit, FOCAC & UK Port Deal Oct 15, 2021

An often contentious leaderless summit took place last in Montepellier where African youth activists did not hold back in telling French President Emmanuel Macron what they thought needed to be done to improve ties between the two regions. Eric & Cobus look at what lessons China, the U.S., and others can take away from the heated exchanges that took place.

Plus, a preview of what might be on the agenda at the upcoming Forum on China-Africa Cooperation summit that is expected to take place next month in the Senegalese capital Dakar and the guys dive into a billion port development deal led by the UK and the United Arab Emirates.

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China's Role in Zambia's Unfolding Debt Crisis Oct 13, 2021

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 Oct 08, 2021

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 Oct 04, 2021

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.

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Key Takeaways From AidData's New Report on How China's Finances the BRI Oct 01, 2021

AidData, 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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Amazon: Protecting China's Interests Overseas: Securitization and Foreign Policy

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Lightning Round: US-Africa, DRC-China and China-Africa Trade Sep 28, 2021

This week's scheduled guest didn't show, so Eric & Cobus went back to their roots by producing a Lightning Round Podcast where they hashed out three of the hottest topics in the news this week.

Join the guys for a fast-paced discussion on U.S. President Joe Biden's decision to not meet with any African leader last week, the latest in the China-DRC mining saga and why the opening of the four day China-Africa Trade Expo in the central Chinese province of Hunan is kind of a big deal.

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Is China Exporting Authoritarianism Around the World? Sep 24, 2021

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.

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Update on the China-DR Congo Mining Contracts Dispute Sep 21, 2021

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.

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The Complicated, Confusing Nature of China's Ties With Israel Sep 17, 2021

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.

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Why Food Security & Agriculture Issues Need to Be Atop the China-Africa Agenda Sep 14, 2021

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.

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China's Role in the Burgeoning Debt Challenge in Africa Sep 10, 2021

The debt situation in Africa is changing very quickly as some countries race to negotiate urgent bailouts with the IMF while others are struggling to service their debts amid the ongoing pandemic. Pretty much every country across the continent is struggling right now.

And China is a key player in every part of this story, whether it's as a major player in the G20's Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) or as the primary bilateral creditor to at least ten countries that are now confronting rising levels of debt distress.

Greg Smith, a former World Bank economist who's now an emerging markets fund manager at M&G Investment in London, chronicles Africa's debt challenges in a new book coming out soon that provides critical context to the current financial crisis that's now unfolding in many African countries and the role that China's played over the years. Greg joins Eric & Cobus to talk about his new book and to share his insights on the current debt situation on the continent.

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Gauging the Effectiveness of Chinese Soft Power in Africa Sep 07, 2021

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.

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A Conversation With Wu Peng, China's Top Diplomat For Africa Sep 03, 2021

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)

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Can Africa Learn Anything From How China Runs Its State Companies? Aug 31, 2021

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.

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New Trends in Chinese Energy & Development Finance Aug 27, 2021

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.

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Gyude Moore Reflects on a Week of Democracy, Debt & Despair Aug 18, 2021

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.

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Assessing the Impact of Anti-China Sentiment in the Global South Aug 13, 2021

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.

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An Update on the Current State of China-Zimbabwe Economic Relations Aug 11, 2021

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.

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A Peek Into the Mysterious World of Chinese Diplomacy Aug 06, 2021

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.

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China to Kenya: It's Payback Time Aug 04, 2021

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 the 21st. 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.

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China's Role in Re-Energizing the South Sudan Peace Process Jul 30, 2021

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.

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Welcome to the New Era of China-Africa Relations Jul 23, 2021

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.

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Tanzania Resumes Talks With China Over the Bagamoyo Port Deal. But Is It Too Late? Jul 14, 2021

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.

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When It Comes to China, Africa and Central Asia Have Quite a Bit in Common Jul 02, 2021

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.

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The Diplomat's Shannon Tiezzi on China and the Global South Jun 30, 2021

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.

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DRC Wants to Renegotiate Chinese Mining Deals. It Won't Be Easy. Jun 23, 2021

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.

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An Update on Chinese Lending in Africa (It's Not Good News) Jun 18, 2021

This week's launch of the new Lagos to Ibadan Standard Gauge Railway may be the last time for a long while that a big multibillion dollars 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, just that they're a lot smaller, less risky, and demand air-tight feasibility studies that almost guarantee they'll get their money back.

Zainab Usman, 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 & Cobus from Washington to discuss her latest analysis that explores "five key takeaways on Chinese lending in Africa."

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Chinese Entertainment is Finding New Audiences in Africa Jun 16, 2021

Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee kung fu movies have long been popular in Africa. Now, however, Chinese entertainment content is expanding beyond martial arts to include sports and even soap operas.

Chinese television dramas are now starting to find audiences in Africa and the Middle East thanks in part to the growing popularity of the pay-TV service StarTimes that dubs programs into dozens of African languages and tech companies like iQiyi that now Arabic language packages.

Even the nascent Chinese Super League is starting to build a following on the continent. More African soccer players are competing in the Chinese professional league with games broadcast twice a day during the season to millions of homes across the continent on StarTimes.

Freelance tech and digital culture journalist Chu Yang recently co-authored an article with journalist Soila Kenya published on the Chinese news and lifestyle website Sixth Tone that explores how Chinese digital trends are finding their way to Africa and other emerging markets. Chu joins Eric & Cobus from Denmark to discuss her latest report about whether Chinese so-called “C-Dramas” are gaining popularity in Africa.

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Chinese Cyber Sovereignty & Nigeria's #Twitterban Jun 11, 2021

The Nigerian government justified the banning of Twitter on the basis of protecting the country's national interest, security, and sovereignty. Although the move was done for purely domestic political reasons, the government's defense is strikingly similar to the language that China pioneered more than a decade ago when it first introduced its "Cyber Sovereignty" model for internet governance.

It shouldn't come as a surprise, though, that Nigeria may be following China's example by making the state a central actor in determining what its constituents can see and do online. Senior Nigerian officials for years have openly expressed admiration for China's rigid system of internet censorship and control.

Emeka Umejei, a lecturer at the University of Ghana and an expert in Chinese media and communications, said the fact that China has been able to impose its will on the internet while at the same time fostering digital innovation presents a very appealing model for some African leaders. He joins Eric & Cobus to discuss the Nigerian Twitter ban and what connection, if any, it has with China's approach to online sovereignty.

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Why Huawei's Much Ridiculed New OS Could Still Have a Big Impact in Africa Jun 04, 2021

Huawei officially launched HarmonyOS this week, its new mobile operating system. The company was forced to build its own in-house OS after the Trump administration banned it from accessing key U.S. technologies including Alphabet's Android.

While Harmony is widely derided, even ridiculed among the U.S. and European tech press (described as the "fake it till you make it" OS), there may be a market for it in Global South countries. First, it'll allow Huawei to get back in the mobile phone market in developing countries where it's lost a lot of ground. This means Huawei's going to sell phones for cheap. Very cheap. Secondly, Huawei is promoting HarmonyOS less as an Android replacement and more as a platform for the Internet of Things (IoT) which could allow the Chinese tech giant to leverage its already sizable network infrastructure presence in Africa to develop new connectivity initiatives.

Henry Tugendhat, a senior China policy analyst at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C., acknowledges that it's going to be tough going for HarmonyOS to gain traction in the market (remember PalmOS, Symbian, and Windows Mobile?) but he also thinks it would be unwise to write it off entirely. Henry joins Eric & Cobus to discuss the geopolitical dimensions of Huawei's new operating system and why he thinks it's important.

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China Moves Ahead With Vaccine Distribution While COVAX, U.S. Efforts Falter Jun 01, 2021

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 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 & Cobus from Beijing to discuss which Chinese vaccines are going where.

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Uganda Wants to Make It Big in China's Booming Coffee Market May 28, 2021

Uganda, like many African countries, suffers from an enormous trade deficit with China. Last year, according to UN figures, Uganda exported just $40 million worth of goods to China but imported more than $1.3 billion in return. The government in Kampala knows this is not sustainable in the long run and is now taking measures to address the problem by leveraging one of its most valuable exports: coffee.

Uganda is looking to China to help quintuple the volume of coffee exports over the next five years. While that may sound ambitious, it may actually be achievable thanks to the surging demand for coffee in China's largest and wealthiest cities.

Dr. Emmanuel Iyamulemye, managing director of the Uganda Coffee Development Authority, and Frandan Tumukunde, a farmer and coffee marketing expert with extensive experience in China, are part of the team that's leading the effort to break into the Chinese market. Both join Eric & Cobus from Kampala to discuss how it's going so far and what kind of challenges they're up against.

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Understanding China's Outlook on Global Aid & Development May 26, 2021

The Chinese approach to global aid and development is very different than that of traditional donors in the U.S., Europe, and Japan. While Beijing is leveraging much of the existing global development infrastructure, including organizations like the IMF, the WHO, and the UN among others, they're bringing a very different philosophy in how aid is administered in developing countries.

And just as in other areas of China's geopolitical engagement with the international community, their approach to aid and development is also creating points of friction, both with the legacy powers and even with stakeholders in a number of recipient countries. China's dedication to its non-interference doctrine and refusal to be fully transparent in aid delivery often leads to misunderstanding and tension.

Peking University Professor Yao Yang, dean of the university's national school of development, joins Eric & Cobus from Beijing to discuss the Chinese outlook on global development and specifically how it differs from established Western norms.

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China's Role in the African Infrastructure Financing Crisis May 21, 2021

African infrastructure financing is facing a crisis. Financing levels have plunged from $100 billion a year in 2014 to just $31 billion last year, according to a new report published by the international law firm Baker McKenzie.

This is a massive setback for the continent that's been working hard to fill a gaping infrastructure deficit the AfDB conservatively estimates is valued somewhere around a trillion dollars over ten years. And the situation has been made worse by the dramatic pullback in overseas development financing from China's two largest policy banks that have been the dominant funders of African infrastructure over the past 5-6 years.

Wildu du Plessis, head of Baker McKenzie's Global Africa Practice and a co-author of the report, joins Eric & Cobus to discuss the current state of African infrastructure financing and why, despite the current challenges, he nonetheless remains optimistic about the future.

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What Should Be on the China-Africa Environmental Agenda? May 14, 2021

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 any more.

Today, it's all about access to COVID-19, 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 that's 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 & Cobus to discuss the top China-Africa environmental stories and why they feel these issues should be on the FOCAC agenda.

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Why the New China-Iran Agreement Isn't a Big Deal May 07, 2021

Depending on who you speak with, the 25-year Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) agreement between China and Iran either marks the emergence of a new "axis of evil" that's going to overturn the balance of power in the Middle East or it's just a lot of vague promises that are largely aspirational with no firm commitments.

The truth is that no one outside of the participants themselves actually knows what it's in the agreement because it hasn't been made public and probably will never be published. Regardless of what's in the deal, or not, it nonetheless symbolizes shifting geopolitical trends in the Persian Gulf that's allowing China to take on a much more prominent role.

Bill Figueroa, a leading China-Iran scholar based in the United States, contends that of people, especially in Washington, are misreading the situation. He joins Eric & Cobus to explain why he thinks the CSP isn't a big deal both "literally or figuratively."

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China and the Rapidly Changing Security Dynamics in the Mideast & North Africa May 04, 2021

A pair of recent Congressional hearings revealed the heightened anxiety in Washington about China's expanding presence in the Middle East and North Africa. Both lawmakers and Pentagon officials appear increasingly concerned that China's rapidly expanding economic, security, and diplomatic presence in the region will all 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 journal Rusi 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 multi-polar. But contrary to the perception among many in Washington, Andrea contends that the Chinese have no plans to challenge the U.S. militarily in MENA but will instead rely on economic and diplomatic initiatives.

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The Pushback Against China's Coercive Diplomacy Apr 30, 2021

Although China has successfully leveraged its strengths in COVID-19 vaccine production to replenish its reservoir of goodwill in many developing countries, elsewhere Beijing is facing growing resistance to its increasingly assertive foreign policy agenda.

The U.S. is mobilizing friends and allies to build large coalitions designed to confront China. In Asia, Beijing's territorial claims in the South China Sea polarize many of its neighbors and in Africa and the Americas civil society groups are furious over the destructive impact of Chinese engagement in their regions.

Luke Patey, a well-known China-Africa scholar and a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies, chronicles the growing resistance to China in many parts of the world in a new book "How China Loses: The Pushback Against Chinese Global Ambitions." He joins Eric & Cobus from Copenhagen to discuss why so many people are now more frustrated with China and what he recommends Beijing can do to remedy the situation.

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Debunking Myths About Chinese Labor in Africa Apr 28, 2021

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's comments this week that suggested China imports labor to work on infrastructure projects highlights the incredible durability of one of the oldest myths about Chinese engagement. The reality is there's been a steady decline in the number of Chinese workers over the years and that the overwhelming majority of laborers on Chinese-run construction projects are locally hired.

Ding Fei, a postdoctoral research associate at the Arizona State University, is among a growing number of scholars who have published research that challenges many of the misperceptions about Chinese employment and labor practices in Africa. She joins Eric & Cobus to discuss her recent column in the Washington Post that focuses on Chinese management practices in Africa and why she thinks people like Secretary Blinken and so many others hold on to outdated perceptions on this issue.

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A New China-Africa Think Tank Aims to Fill a Big Void Apr 23, 2021

While Africa is home to a number of world-class think tanks, very few have deep expertise in China and Asian affairs more broadly. This week, a group of young scholars launched the Afro-Sino Centre for International Relations in Ghana in an effort to help fill that void and provide China-Africa analysis from a distinctly African perspective.

AfSCIR Co-Founder and Executive Director Pamela Carslake joins Eric & Cobus from Accra to discuss her new organization and how it plans to go about getting its analysis into the hands of African stakeholders across the continent.

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The U.S.'s Blue Dot Network vs. China's Belt & Road Initiative Apr 20, 2021

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 initiative 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 but that doesn't mean there isn't a lot of enthusiasm in both Washington and Tokyo to come 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 & 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.

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How Chinese Business Practices Are Disrupting the Kenyan Fishing Industry Apr 16, 2021

Chinese seafood buyers are reportedly cutting out Kenyan middlemen and working directly with local fishermen for lobsters and other fish products, according to a report in the East African newspaper. Fishermen, for their part, aren't complaining. They're getting to work directly with customers wh provide access to an enormous consumer market back in Asia.

But those agents and other middlemen who for years sat in between Chinese buyers and the local fishing communities are now being pushed aside.

The Nation Media Group's Regional Editor for East Africa, Allan Olingo, has spent years covering China's role in the Kenyan fishing sector. He joins Eric & Cobus to discuss his recent report on the middlemen and how, for better or worse, Chinese business practices are disrupting an entire industry.

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Deals, Deals & More Deals. China's Tech Giants Expand in Africa & MENA Apr 13, 2021

2021 has been a busy year so far for China's technology giants as they look to expand their international operations and appear to have their sites set on expanding in both the African and Arabian markets. JD, Didi, iQiyi, and Tencent are among those who've all made announcements in the past few weeks.

Tech journalist Alexandria Williams closely follows Chinese e-commerce and technology companies from Nairobi where she's now writing a weekly Tech Digest column for The China Africa Project. Alexandria recently to move to Kenya from China where she worked wrote about tech. She joins Eric & Cobus to give an update on what's new in the Chinese tech space in Africa.

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India, Africa and the U.S.-China Rivalry Apr 09, 2021

The United States government is stepping up its effort to mobilize its friends and allies to challenge China's growing influence across large swathes of the Global South. While Southeast Asia is the primary front in this burgeoning rivalry, Africa and the Americas are also emerging as important regional theaters.

India is playing a central role in all of this. As a founding member of the Quad, the four-country coalition that also includes the U.S., Japan and Australia, New Delhi aims to challenge China's in vaccine distribution, hegemony in the Indian Ocean and in portions of East Africa.

Veda Vaidyanathan closely follows the power intersection among China, India and Africa as a visiting associate fellow at the Institute of Chinese Studies in New Delhi. She's worked as a consultant for the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association in Harare and the Sino-Africa Centre of Excellence in Nairobi. Veda joins Eric & Cobus to discuss what role India is playing in the burgeoning great power rivalry between the United States and China and how that's playing out in Africa.

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How China Lends: A Landmark Report on Chinese Loan Contracts Apr 07, 2021

A groundbreaking new analysis by researchers in the United States and Germany provides an unprecedented look inside the contracts that China uses to lend billions of dollars to developing countries around the world.

The new report, "How China Lends," was joint effort by scholars at AidData at William & Mary College, the Kiel Institute for the World Economy in Germany, the Center for Global Development and the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, D.C.

What they found is that Chinese lenders are "hard-nosed negotiators" who often structure loan deals that weigh heavily in Beijing's favor and include numerous clauses that shroud the agreements in secrecy. But they also acknowledge that many of the methods the Chinese employ are "neither unique nor unprecedented."

One of the report's authors, AidData Executive Director Bradley Parks, joins Eric & Cobus to discuss what their survey of 100 Chinese loan contracts revealed about China's approach to international development finance and how it differs from that of traditional lenders.

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China Wants to Be a Big Player in the Middle East Apr 02, 2021

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's latest six-nation tour of the Middle East and Turkey 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.

Zayed University Assistant Professor and Atlantic Council Senior Fellow Jonathan Fulton is among the world's foremost China-Mideast scholars and closely followed Wang's trip. He joins Eric & Cobus from Abu Dhabi to discuss the outcomes of the recent tour and China's broader ambitions in the Middle East.

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China's Rapidly Evolving Lending Practices in Africa and the Americas Mar 30, 2021

It wasn't that long ago when China lent tens of billions of dollars to developing countries in Africa and the Americas to build vast amounts of badly-needed infrastructure. Now, it appears, those days are over.

Concerns over debt sustainability, corruption, and poor planning have all led to a dramatic fall-off in Chinese lending in those regions.

Deborah Brautigam, director of the China-Africa Research Initiative at Johns Hopkins University, and Kevin Gallager, head of the Global Development Policy Center at Boston University join Eric & Cobus this week to talk about what the latest data on Chinese lending reveals and how Chinese development finance is rapidly evolving.

SHOW NOTES:

CARI Report: Twenty Years of Data on China's Africa Lending: https://bit.ly/3rzgksu
Chinese Interactive Loan Database at Boston University: https://chinaafricaloandata.org/

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Chinese Perspectives on Anti-Black Racism in China Mar 26, 2021

A series of high-profile recent incidents including the use of blackface on Chinese TV, discrimination against Black residents in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, and widespread racial insensitivity on Chinese social media sites like Weibo have sparked a vibrant discussion about anti-Black racism in China.

While these conversations have done a lot to advance our collective understanding of the complexities of this issue, too often, though, Chinese voices are under-represented in the conversation.

A group of young Chinese scholars is hoping to change that by engaging both domestic and international stakeholders in a far more nuanced discourse on race and identity in China. Last August, they published a controversial analysis on the prevalence of anti-Black racism on Weibo. Later, they translated some of their findings into English and published it on The China Africa Project.

The scholars have chosen to remain anonymous out of concern that the sensitive nature of the topic will provoke a dangerous backlash from online trolls. Two of those researchers join Eric & Cobus to explain what they feel is missing from the debate about Chinese-Black race relations in China. They also invited five of their academic colleagues to share their perspectives on the issue as well.

SHOW NOTES:

Anti-Black Racism on the Chinese Social Media Network Weibo by Anonymous: https://bit.ly/2Quv66L
我们分析了五万条种族歧视账号微博，发现了这些: https://bit.ly/3jQIkph

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The Politics of Chinese Vaccine Distribution in Africa Mar 24, 2021

The Chinese government insists that politics play no part in its rapidly expanding global vaccine distribution campaign. But when you look at the maps as to where Chinese vaccine sales and donations are heaviest, it just so happens to be in regions that are among the most strategically important to Beijing: Southeast Asia, the Persian Gulf, and South America.

Rosie Wigmore in Beijing and Ovigwe Eguegu in Abuja, both policy analysts for the Beijing-based consultancy Development Reimagined, have been closely tracking the increasingly fraught politics related to vaccine distribution. They join Eric & Cobus to talk about their latest commentaries on the issue and what the key issues are in the months ahead.

SHOW NOTES:

5 Reasons to Worry About the ‘Chinese Vaccine Diplomacy’ Narrative by Rosie Wigmore: https://bit.ly/3lMXoVW
Will Chinese-Made COVID-19 Vaccines Find Acceptance in Nigeria? by Ovigwe Eguegu: https://bit.ly/3bFjtlS

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Update on the Current State of China-Zambia Relations Mar 19, 2021

The recent visit to Zambia by China's top foreign policy official Yang Jiechi highlights the outsized importance Lusaka plays in Beijing's broader Africa strategy. Relations between the countries are among China's oldest on the continent, dating back to the anti-colonial struggles of the 1960s.

Today, ideology has given way to economics. Zambia is a key supplier of copper and iron ore while China is Lusaka's largest bilateral creditor.

Emmanuel Matambo, a native-Zambian and research director at the Centre for Africa-China Studies at the University of Johannesburg, joins Eric & Cobus to discuss how debt, xenophobia, and geopolitics are together placing unprecedented strains on the Sino-Zambian relationship.

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YouTube: The Impact of Zambia-China Relations on Zambia's Democracy

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How Smaller Countries Can Negotiate More Effectively With China Mar 17, 2021

China's enormous size affords it tremendous advantages in its relations with smaller countries, particularly developing states in the global south. Beijing regularly leverages its huge economy, growing military power, and diplomatic muscle in international organizations to both cajole and even coerce other countries in pursuit of its own interests.

China's behavior towards smaller states is by no means exceptional. In fact, it's quite standard among the world's major powers. The more pressing question, though, is how do these smaller countries respond to a more assertive China? In many instances, there is no response. Many developing countries have been slow to shift their focus from traditional power centers in Washington, London and Brussels to Beijing and, as such, have not built up the internal competencies within their governments to effectively negotiate with China.

But in Argentina, that's starting to change. Santiago Bustelo is a China advisor in the Ministry of Development who brings almost a decade of experience in Chinese politics and economics to help the government in Buenos Aires form a more effective engagement strategy with Beijing.

Santiago joins Eric & Cobus to discuss the particular challenges that smaller states like Argentina face in crafting a China policy.

SHOW NOTES:

Tips for African Negotiators Doing Deals with China: Rebalancing Asymmetries by Hervé Lado and Folashadé Soulé: https://bit.ly/3cLeijE

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Diversity and Inclusive Representation in the China Watching Space Mar 12, 2021

This month marks the one-year anniversary of the Black China Caucus (BCC), an organization set up to foster a more inclusive discussion about China. BCC was founded by a group of Black China professionals in the United States with a range of backgrounds in academia, politics, and business who all saw it as an urgent imperative that traditionally marginalized voices now become a part of the broader conversation on China.

BCC Co-Founder, Dr. Keisha Brown, an assistant professor at Tennessee State University in Nashville, and Executive Vice President Avonda Fogan, an education executive in Washington, D.C. join Eric & Cobus to discuss why diversifying the predominantly white China watching community in the U.S. and Europe is so important.

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The Black China Caucus and NüVoices:

Web: blackchinacaucus.org & nuvoices.com.

Twitter: @BLKChinaCaucus & @nuvoices

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Tibor Nagy Reflects on U.S.-China Competition in Africa Mar 09, 2021

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 both castigated the other country, providing 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 & 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.

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Kenya's Delicate Balancing Act Between the U.S. and China Mar 05, 2021

Kenya has done far better than many countries in fostering robust ties with both the United States and China, particularly in economic relations. Just last week, President Uhuru Kenyatta spoke by phone with his American counterpart Joe Biden and among the issues they discussed was the revival of talks to finalize a free trade agreement between the two countries.

On the Chinese side, the Kenyatta administration is negotiating with its creditors in Beijing to restructure billions of dollars of outstanding loans. Already, China's policy banks have deferred just under a quarter-billion dollars of debt repayments and the two sides are now also working to handover key infrastructure projects like the Standard Gauge Railway to local control ahead of schedule as a way to reduce the loan repayment burden.

But none of this may be enough to avert severe economic distress, according to Elijah Munyi, an assistant professor at the United States International University-Africa in Nairobi. Professor Munyi, who's an expert in Kenyan international relations, joins Eric to discuss why he sees a very difficult road ahead.

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Africa's Role In the Current India-China Rivalry Mar 02, 2021

Africa is emerging as a front in two great power rivalries, one between China and the U.S. and the other between China and India. The increasingly bitter feud between Asia's two largest countries now extends beyond the sub-continent into the Indian Ocean and all the way to Africa.

Abishek Mishra, a junior fellow at the New Delhi-based think tank Observer Research Foundation, closely follows China-India-Africa relations, particularly in the maritime sector. He joins Eric & Cobus to discuss how the feud between Asia's two largest countries impacts Africa.

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Update on the Chinese Debt Situation in Africa Feb 26, 2021

Chinese debt relief talks are underway in a number of African countries including Angola, Zambia, Kenya, and Ethiopia among others but you wouldn't really know it. Officials on all sides aren't saying much and there's relatively little press coverage on the issue.

Meantime, a growing number of African countries are signing on to the G20's common framework while at the same time negotiating debt deferral deals with the IMF and other multilateral creditors. In terms of private creditors, there's been little to no progress on any meaningful restructuring of the billions of Eurobond obligations owed by African borrowers.

Mark Bohlund, a senior credit research analyst at REDD Intelligence in London, closely follows everything going on in the African debt market. He joins Eric & Cobus to provide an update on China's role in the debt situation confronting many of Africa's largest economies.

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Change in Guangzhou's African Diaspora Community Feb 23, 2021

April 11th will mark the one-year anniversary of what's become known as "the Guangzhou Incident" when dozens, possibly hundreds of African residents in the southern Chinese city were evicted from their homes and hotels. Chinese officials denied that Black and African residents were singled out as part of a broader crackdown to enforce stringent COVID-19 health regulations, but much of the rest of the world didn't buy it after they saw countless social videos depicting blatant maltreatment.

Although many people today associate Guangzhou with what happened last April, the fact is that the African diaspora community there had been under intense pressure for years. Tougher Chinese immigration laws, higher livings costs, and new zoning ordinances all made life increasingly difficult for African transnational migrants -- especially those whose immigration status wasn't always fully legal. And this was BEFORE the pandemic.

Roberto Castillo, an assistant professor at Lingnan University in Hong Kong, has been closely following those changes in southern China's African diaspora communities for more than a decade. He's just come out with a new book on the subject and joins Eric & Cobus to discuss how Asia's largest overseas African population is undergoing profound change.

SHOW NOTES:

Amazon.com: purchase the Kindle edition of African Transnational Mobility in China: Africans on the Move by Roberto Castillo

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China's Low Profile Diplomacy in the Caribbean Feb 19, 2021

China is steadily, albeit quietly, deepening its ties in the Caribbean region using many of the same techniques that it did in the early 2000s when it ramped up its engagement in Africa. The Chinese are buying more agriculture, building infrastructure, and integrating a growing number of Caribbean states into its Belt and Road global trade agenda.

But Rasheed Griffith, host of the China in the Caribbean Podcast, cautions that while Beijing's engagement in the Caribbean may look a lot like what it's doing in Africa and other developing regions, there are some important differences.

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The Future of Chinese-Financed Infrastructure in Kenya Feb 17, 2021

The China Road and Bridge Corporation is building a massive new half-a-billion dollar expressway right through the Kenyan capital of Nairobi. But this project is very different than previous Chinese-financed infrastructure initiatives in Kenya, like the ailing Standard Gauge Railway for example, where the government borrowed billions from the China Exim Bank.

Instead, the new Nairobi Expressway is a public-private-partnership (PPP) where CRBC is putting up the money and in turn, will receive a long-term concession to recoup its investment before handing the road back to the Kenyan government. It's easy to see why a lot of people like this model given that the host country doesn't incur any debt and the contractor has a chance to earn a sizable return on its investment. But in Kenya, as in many countries, PPPs are complicated and very risky.

Nairobi-based journalist Ismail Einashe is closely following the development of the new Nairobi Expressway and shared some of his reflections of the project in a "Letter From Africa" that was recently published on BBC News. Ismail joins Eric & Cobus from Nairobi to discuss why this particular road could tell us a lot about the future of infrastructure financing in Africa.

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China & The Geopolitics of COVID Vaccines in Africa Feb 09, 2021

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 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 is now operational that will facilitate the transportation and distribution of vaccines throughout Africa.

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 they're doing to help the situation. Nwachukwu joins Eric & Cobus to discuss a two-part series he wrote on the geopolitical ramifications of COVID-19 vaccine distribution for China, Africa and Western countries.

SHOW NOTES:

Read Nwachukwu Egbunike's two-part series: COVID-19 vaccine in Africa - Caught between China’s soft-power diplomacy and the West’s vaccine nationalism

Part 1: https://bit.ly/2YVAi4K
Part 2: https://bit.ly/2YVH8ak

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China's Cutting Back on BRI Financing, But Not For Renewable Energy Feb 05, 2021

China has dramatically cut back financing overseas infrastructure development initiatives, especially for carbon-intensive energy projects involving oil, gas, and coal. From 2016 to 2019, China's two major policy banks slashed lending by a stunning 85%.

However, renewables are the exception, according to a new report by the Green Belt and Road Initiative Center at the Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing. For the first time ever last year, financing for renewable energy projects using solar, wind, or hydropower accounted for more than half of all of Chinese investment in energy infrastructure around the world, said the report.

And BRI countries benefitted significantly more than those not a part of Beijing's global trade agenda.

Two of the report's authors, Christoph Nedopil, founding director of the Green BRI Center, and Mengdi Yue, a researcher at the center, join Eric & Cobus from Beijing to discuss the report's findings and why financing renewable energy is now a more important policy priority for Beijing.

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Lessons From ASEAN on How Africa Can Better Manage Ties With China Feb 02, 2021

While Chinese engagement in Africa is a relatively new phenomenon, dating back around 20 years now, countries in Southeast Asia have millennia of experience in managing ties with Beijing. Today, the 10 countries that make up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN, are on the frontlines of the Belt and Road Initiative and China's rapidly escalating rivalry with the United States.

And given that most of Southeast Asia is very similar to Africa in terms of demographics (both young regions), agriculture (both are predominantly agrarian), and development (average per capita incomes are similar at around $4,000-$5,000), there are a number of applicable lessons that African stakeholders can takeaway from ASEAN's experience in managing ties with China.

Sebastian Strangio, Southeast Asia Editor at the Asia-Pacific news site The Diplomat, is among the world's leading journalists covering the region and also the author of a new book that chronicles ASEAN's complex, often contentious relationship with its powerful neighbor to the north. Sebastian joins Eric & Cobus to discuss how countries in this part of the world have learned to live "in the dragon's shadow."

AMAZON.COM: In The Dragon's Shadow: Southeast Asia in the Chinese Century by Sebastian Strangio

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Tanzania's Relationship Status With China: It's Complicated Jan 29, 2021

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's January visit 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 along with 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 re-build 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 Shangwe Muhidin is among the world's leading Sino-Tanzanian affairs scholars and joins Eric & 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.

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China Wants to Become a Major Player in International Aid Jan 26, 2021

In January, China published a blueprint for how it plans to become one of the world's leading countries in international and development. The white paper on "China's International's 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 conform their new aid agenda to 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 also critical as many of those traditional donors are under mounting pressure to cut their foreign aid budgets -- the implications of what the Chinese say they want to do could be significant for Africa and other developing regions.

Stella Hong Zhang, a PhD 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 & Cobus to discuss why she feels it's so important.

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The Plunge in China's Overseas Lending Jan 22, 2021

Getting a loan from one of China's two largest policy banks is significantly more difficult than it was just a couple of years ago. According to data from Boston University's Global Development Policy Center, lending by the China Development Bank and the China Exim Bank plunged 94% from $75 billion in 2016 to just $4 billion in 2019.

This is a dramatic shift given that these two banks alone over the past 20 years have lent nearly as much as the World Bank.

BU's findings have generated quite a bit of discussion and while other analysts may disagree with some of their results, most share their conclusion that Chinese policy bank lending has indeed fallen precipitously with no indication as to if or when it'll rebound.

Kevin Gallagher, director of the Global Development Policy Center, and Rebecca Ray, a senior academic researcher there were among the leads who helped to build the new interactive database that tracks Chinese policy bank lending around the world. They both join Eric & Cobus from Boston to discuss their research and why Beijing is now far more judicious with its loans.

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China's Rapidly Evolving Relations in the DR Congo Jan 15, 2021

Foreign Minister Wang Yi's stopover in Kinshasa on his latest Africa tour highlights the growing importance of the DR Congo in Chinese foreign policy. During his visit, Wang announced a modest debt relief package and that the DRC would become the 45th African country to join the Belt and Road Initiative.

But those initiatives belie the DR Congo's larger importance to China. The Chinese are now in the midst of a major cobalt buying binge, a critical metal found largely in the DRC. 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-DRC relations and has been closely watching the rapid evolution of Chinese engagement in the DRC from the mid-2000s to the present. She joins Eric & 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.

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Will China Ever Look to Africa as a Manufacturing Destination? Jan 12, 2021

"Made in China" once represented the lowest-cost manufacturing in the world. Not anymore. Labor costs have been steadily rising, environmental regulations are much stricter now, and, as of last year, Chinese products exported to the U.S. come with expensive tariffs.

In response, Chinese manufacturers have been moving their operations overseas, sparking an intense global competition among many of the world's poorest countries to see who can attract that investment. Southeast Asia, at least so far, appears to be the big winner. But other regions, including Africa, aren't giving up -- countries such Ethiopia are aggressively positioning themselves as an ideal gateway for Chinese producers to access the European, U.S., and even the Chinese market itself.

Jia Yu from the Institute of New Structural Economics at Peking University, one of Beijing's most prestigious international development think tanks, closely follows the Chinese offshoring trends and has conducted extensive research on Chinese Special Economic Zone development in Ethiopia and in various Asian countries. She joins Eric & Cobus to explain where Chinese manufacturers are going and whether African countries are well-positioned now to pick up some of that business.

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China's Growing Influence in the Mideast & Persian Gulf Jan 08, 2021

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.

And 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 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 & Cobus to discuss his new paper, Enter The Dragon: China’s Growing Influence In The Middle East And North Africa and explains policymakers need a more refined view of China's ambitions in MENA.

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