Satellite Photos Reveal Underground Construction at Chinese Military Base
New satellite imagery of China's first overseas military base reveal it to be bigger and more secure than previously thought.
China’s ‘Belt and Road’ Opens up New Business in Africa—for Both the U.S. And China
There has been no shortage of headlines proclaiming China’s growing clout in a “new world order” in recent months. This speculation resurfaced after the July G-20 summit, at which the United States reconfirmed its withdrawal from the Paris...
China Sends Troops to Djibouti, Establishes First Overseas Military Base
China has dispatched troops to Djibouti in advance of formally establishing the country's first overseas military base.
Depth of Field
06.29.17
Love, Robots, and Fireworks
from Yuanjin PhotoIncluded in this Depth of Field column are stories of love, community, remembrance, and the future, told through the discerning eyes of some of China’s best photojournalists. Among them, the lives of African migrants in Guangzhou, seven years...
Uganda: President Cancels $175 Million Mining Project
President Museveni has stopped a multi-billion copper mining project with a Chinese company at Kilembe Mines following information that a former minister pocketed a $1m bribe to influence the deal.
China Is in the Middle of Diplomatic Spat With One of Its Oldest Allies in Africa
Zambian authorities have detained 31 Chinese citizens on suspicion of illegal copper mining, according to Chinese officials who have formally complained about the arrest.
The China Africa Project
06.06.17
Chinese Debt in Africa: How Much Is Too Much?
China now owns more than half of Kenya’s external debt, and that figure is likely to grow even higher as President Uhuru...
The China Africa Project
06.02.17
The U.S. and China Spend Millions Fighting Malaria in Africa, So Why Don’t They Work Together?
Both the United States and People’s Republic of China...
The China Africa Project
05.18.17
‘The New York Times’ on China, from on the Ground in Namibia
Western news coverage of China’s engagement in Africa often is confined to the business section, generally focusing on loans, resource deals, or other financial dealings. Moreover, ambitious international feature reporting,...
The China Africa Project
05.10.17
China Appears to be Losing Interest in Africa
Beijing-based investment attorney Kai Xue joins Eric and Cobus to discuss why he thinks Africa is no longer appealing to Chinese companies. Kai Xue is a longtime Sino-African affairs analyst and carefully monitors trade, foreign...
The China Africa Project
04.26.17
The U.N.’s Role in China’s African Development Agenda
China’s embrace of multilateral diplomacy in Africa is a relatively new phenomenon. For years, Beijing rejected the Western aid model, preferring instead to work bilaterally with African governments where they often employed aid (...
The China Africa Project
04.14.17
China Conducts Foreign Policy in Africa without Judgment
In this edition of the China in Africa podcast, we pull the focus back to look at China’s rapidly evolving foreign policy agenda in this new era of Western populism led by Donald Trump in the United States.
François...
The China Africa Project
03.31.17
China Spends Billions in Egypt to Woo the Middle East
Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz’s recent state visit to Beijing is the latest evidence that China is maneuvering to play a bigger role in the Middle...
China Isn’t Displacing Traditional Aid Donors in Africa
Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s decision to make Africa his first stop on a five-nation tour in early January highlights the importance China places on its relations with Africa.
Joyous Africans Take to the Rails, With China’s Help
China, which designed the system, supplied the trains and imported hundreds of engineers for the six years it took to plan and build the 466-mile line. And the $4 billion cost? Chinese banks provided nearly all the financing.
The China Africa Project
02.08.17
How China’s Insatiable Demand for Timber Threatens Congo’s Rainforests
In this episode, award-winning Shanghai-based environmental journalist Shi Yi joins Eric and Cobus to discuss the emerging crisis over the illegal trade of Congolese bloodwood. She recently reported on how surging demand in China...
The China Africa Project
01.24.17
How Taiwan Became a Divisive Political Issue in South Africa
South Africa’s opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), now sees the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party’s close ties to China as a vulnerability that the DA aims to exploit. Evidence of this new strategy came in...
The China Africa Project
01.19.17
How Donald Trump Could Give China a Real Boost in Africa
The election of Donald Trump has introduced a new era of uncertainty in global politics, especially in Africa where the U.S. president-elect has said nothing about his foreign policy agenda for the continent. Not surprisingly,...
China’s Money, China’s Blue Helmets for Africa
It’s not just about raw materials anymore. China’s expanding influence in Africa poses risks to European interests, but it offers opportunities as well.
Conversation
01.10.17
Can Beijing’s Ivory Ban Save the Elephants?
On New Year’s Eve, Beijing announced it will ban the ivory trade in China, potentially shutting down the world’s biggest ivory market. Why did Beijing decide to curb the ivory trade? Will it put enough muscle behind it to enforce the decision?...
China Resumes Ties with São Tomé, Which Turned Away from Taiwan
Beijing suspended its relationship with São Tomé in 1997 after the African island nation established diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The China Africa Project
12.25.16
China’s Risky Power Play in the Arab World
International Relations Professor Zaynab El Bernoussi from Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco, joins Eric and Cobus this week to discuss her recent column on China’s growing influence in the Middle East and North Africa....
The New Scramble for Africa: How China Became the Partner of Choice
In 2014 alone China invested £56 billion in African infrastructure. But is this colonialism in another guise?
China to Set Date to Close Ivory Factories
Preparation is under way in China to bring in a ban on their domestic ivory trade, following a promise made with the US earlier this year
The China Africa Project
12.09.16
Does One Man in China Control the Fate of Africa’s Elephants?
In the powerful new Netflix documentary The Ivory Game, Elephant Action League Executive Director ...
Uganda is Worried About the Number of Chinese Men Marrying Their Women
An increasing number of Chinese men are marrying Ugandan women to gain residency and continue their business interests in the country
Depth of Field
12.06.16
From West Africa, the Czech Republic, and Home
from Yuanjin PhotoIn this month’s Depth of Field, Chinese photojournalists explore foreign terrain, both beyond China’s borders and within them. Independent photographer Yuyang Liu traveled the open seas to document the lives of Chinese and African...
The China Africa Project
11.29.16
How Rwanda Attracts Chinese Money and Migrants Without the Lure of Natural Resources
Quartz’s Africa correspondent Lily Kuo recently returned from a reporting assignment to Rwanda where she discovered a very different side of China’s engagement in Africa. Rwanda lacks many of the resources and large markets that...
China is Poised to Benefit from Trump’s Ambiguous Africa Policy
By neglecting to propose a clear approach toward the continent, the future U.S. president may end up boosting Beijing
Rwanda is a Landlocked Country with Few Natural Resources. So Why is China Investing So Heavily in it?
Rwanda doesn't fit the usual narrative of China's interest in Africa-- namely that China is only interested in the continent's resources
The China Africa Project
11.17.16
China’s Controversial, Out-Sized Role in Africa’s Digital Revolution
Africa is home to one of the fastest growing technology markets in the world. In fact, more African households own a mobile phone...
A Chinese Aid Project for Rwandan Farmers is More of a Gateway for Chinese Businesses
The Chinese approach to development cooperation does not separate aid, diplomacy, and commerce
Trump May Push African Countries Away From America and Closer to China
The idea of the US as the guardian of liberal values against powers like China might now be upended
The China Africa Project
11.02.16
Chinese-IMF Rivalry Worsened Congo’s Debt Load
In 2007, when China’s Exim Bank unveiled a massive U.S.$6 billion mining deal in the Democratic Republic of...
Here’s What Africans Think of China’s Influence in Their Countries
An African-led research network conducting surveys in 36 African countries reported on citizens’ attitudes toward China. They’re mostly positive.
The China Africa Project
10.27.16
A New Generation Of Chinese Social Entrepreneurs Is Emerging In Africa
The dearth of Chinese NGOs in Africa should not come as a surprise given that the emergence of the non-profit sector in China is a relatively new phenomenon. Today, there are an estimated 500,000 registered NGOs in the P.R.C., most of which focus...
Japan to Expand Djibouti Military Base to Counter Chinese Influence
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is seeking to give the SDF a greater regional and global role as his nation steps back from seven decades of state pacifism.
Chinese Aid is Helping African Economies, but Not in the Places that Need it Most
New data shows that Chinese projects are disproportionately sited in the home towns of African leaders
China’s Experiment in Djibouti
China’s role in Africa is changing from resource extractor to long-term strategic partner. Djibouti is a prime example
The China Africa Project
10.05.16
China’s Media Challenges Western Narratives of Africa
The Chinese media presence across Africa has expanded dramatically over the past ten years, as Beijing has...
The China Africa Project
09.29.16
Humanizing the China-Africa Relationship with Film
When independent filmmaker Carl Houston Mc Millan was growing up in the tiny southern African country of Lesotho, he saw firsthand the effects of China’s surging engagement in Africa. Even in this remote country, embedded within...
The China Africa Project
09.27.16
What Do Zambians Really Think of Chinese Immigrants?
For decades, Zambia had been the flash point of anti-Chinese sentiment in Africa. Late president and outspoken opposition leader Michael Sata was unrivaled in his seething criticisms of both China and the Chinese who had migrated...
Depth of Field
09.12.16
African Migrants in Guangzhou, Forgetting, Family Planning’s Fate, and More...
from Yuanjin PhotoPhotographing the aftermath of catastrophic events is challenging—one that photographer Mu Li handles with creativity and grace looking back at the chemical explosion in Tianjin that damaged as many as 17,000 homes August 12, 2015. Another...
The China Africa Project
09.08.16
Why More Africans Are Learning Mandarin
The South African government’s 2015 decision to start offering Mandarin Chinese classes as a foreign language option at schools...
The China Africa Project
08.17.16
China’s Undeserved Reputation for Building Bad Infrastructure in Africa
The Chinese build more infrastructure than any other country (foreign or African) in Africa. Chinese banks are financing billions of dollars...
The China Africa Project
07.30.16
The Honeymoon between China and Africa Is Over and That’s a Good Thing
It wasn’t that long ago when it was all smiles between the Chinese and Africans. The headlines were all about “win-win” development, China’s role in helping Africa to...
The China Africa Project
07.26.16
There Are a Lot More Chinese Soldiers in Africa Today... And Likely More To Come
Around 2014, the Chinese began to shift their military engagement strategy in Africa to include the deployment of combat-ready infantry units to countries like Mali and South Sudan where the United Nations is being actively targeted by Islamist...
The China Africa Project
07.21.16
China’s Relationship Status with South Africa: ‘It’s Complicated’
South Africa’s relationship with China has undergone a profound transformation in a remarkably short period of time. In less than 20 years, the two countries have gone from barely acknowledging one another to...
Infographics
06.30.16
Visualizing China’s Aid to Africa
In June of last year, 50 countries signed on to the Chinese-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, including the U.K., Germany, Australia, and South Korea, acknowledgement of China’s success in driving development through mega-projects to build...
The China Africa Project
06.30.16
Namibia’s Chinese Ivory Smugglers
Namibia is the rare country in Africa that seems to be holding its own against ivory poachers. Whereas in most other southern African countries the elephant population is being decimated, in Namibia, according to the government, the number of...
The China Africa Project
06.07.16
Industrialization in Africa: Ethiopia Wants to Become the New ‘Made in China’
There’s a pretty good chance that some of the clothes you’re wearing, the shoes on your feet, and even the device you’re using to read this were made in China. Even as its economy slows, China remains the world’s factory, churning out billions of...