The China in Africa Podcast

At last week's Munich Security Conference, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi touted his country's 5% economic growth last year as a "benefit to the world" thanks to all of the trade it does with countries around the world. While countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, among other regions, are no doubt selling more raw materials to China, critics contend, though, that this trade pattern isn't healthy and mostly in China's favor.  This week, Eric, Cobus, and Géraud debate whether Chinese trade is helping or hurting developing countries and whether China's role as the world's manufacturer is also the primary reason why poor countries remain stuck at the bottom of the industrial value chain. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander | @stadenesque  Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social FOLLOW CGSP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine Arabic: عربي: www.alsin-alsharqalawsat.com | @SinSharqAwsat JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CGSP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CGSP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth

There is mounting evidence that indicates the United States government may force South Africa to make a once-unthinkable choice: it's either the U.S. or China, but it can't be both. The president addressed the issue this week and said, "the South Africa situation is very dangerous and very bad for a lot of people." The president and his supporters are angry over South Africa's opposition to Israel in the Gaza War, Pretoria's close ties with Washington's rivals in Tehran and Moscow, and the country's multifaceted relationship with China — including its longstanding memberships in the BRICS and the Belt and Road Initiative.  Johannesburg-based political analyst Nkateko Mabasa joins Eric & Cobus to discuss how South Africans, namely President Cyril Ramaphosa, are responding to the intense pressure from the United States and what it means for the Rainbow nation's ties with China. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander | @stadenesque  Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social FOLLOW CGSP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine Arabic: عربي: www.alsin-alsharqalawsat.com | @SinSharqAwsat JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CGSP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CGSP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth

Chinese engagement in Africa is seen by many people as a classic example of neo-colonial exploitation. China, according to the narrative, is merely the latest in a long line of predatory foreigners seeking to drain the continent's vast reserves of oil, minerals, and timber. The narrative that frames the Chinese as the aggressors and Africans as the victims has largely been defined by U.S., European, and Indian entities over the past several decades and fits neatly into African historical traumas that help explain why so many people feel this way even though it doesn't comport with the evidence. This week, Eric, Géraud, and Cobus discuss why these narratives are so durable and then explore the sensitive issue of who should be empowered to tell the China-Africa story. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander | @stadenesque  Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social FOLLOW CGSP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine Arabic: عربي: www.alsin-alsharqalawsat.com | @SinSharqAwsat JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CGSP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CGSP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth

The Trump administration's decision to issue a 90-day freeze on most foreign assistance around the world will have a disproportionate impact on a number of African countries that rely heavily on U.S. aid. The State Department's "stop work" order has led to the immediate termination of hundreds of aid programs across the continent, notably the hugely successful AIDS mitigation initiative known as PEPFAR. Governments are now scrambling to try and find other sources of funding in a bid to salvage some of these programs. Now, with the U.S. pulling back from its decades-old humanitarian assistance programs in Africa, China may be among the few beneficiaries. Paul Nantulya, a senior research associate at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, and Paa-Kwesi Heto, a policy analyst at the University of California, Irvine, join Eric & Cobus to discuss how the Trump administration's strategy may be good politics at home but potentially counterproductive in countering China abroad. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander | @stadenesque  Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social FOLLOW CGSP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine Arabic: عربي: www.alsin-alsharqalawsat.com | @SinSharqAwsat JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CGSP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CGSP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth  

When Donald Trump criticized Panama for its management of the canal that he claimed had fallen under Chinese control, many people at first thought this was just another round of Trump's usual bluster. But since his election last November, the President has been relentless in pressuring the government in Panama City and shows no signs of backing down until all Chinese entities have been expelled from the canal zone. Alonso Illueca, an associate law professor at the Universidad Santa María La Antigua and a specialist in China-Panama relations, joins Eric & Cobus from Panama City to discuss the escalating crisis and why the government doesn't have a lot of options to push back against the U.S. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander | @stadenesque  Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social FOLLOW CGSP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine Arabic: عربي: www.alsin-alsharqalawsat.com | @SinSharqAwsat JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CGSP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CGSP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth  

Donald Trump roared back into power this week, signing dozens of executive orders on his first day that upended large parts of the U.S. foreign policy agenda. The president withdrew the United States from the World Health Organization, the Paris Climate Accords and froze all new foreign aid initiatives. Ronak Gopaldas, a director at the African risk intelligence service Signal Risk and a fellow at the London School of Economics, joins Eric & Cobus to discuss how the dramatic changes that took place in Washington this week impact African countries and China's diplomacy on the continent. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander | @stadenesque  Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social FOLLOW CGSP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine Arabic: عربي: www.alsin-alsharqalawsat.com | @SinSharqAwsat JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CGSP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CGSP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth

Incoming U.S. President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the State Department, Marco Rubio, appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this week as part of the confirmation process. Rubio testified for more than three hours and made it very clear that confronting China is going to be his top priority when he moves into his 7th-floor office at the State Department. Africa, too, emerged as a key theme throughout Rubio's confirmation hearing, notably as a theater of competition with the Chinese. Fonteh Akum, executive director of the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria, joins Eric & Cobus to reflect on Rubio's confirmation hearing and what his remarks say about the new Trump foreign policy outlook for China, Africa, and the world. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander | @stadenesque  Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social FOLLOW CGSP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine Arabic: عربي: www.alsin-alsharqalawsat.com | @SinSharqAwsat JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CGSP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CGSP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth

On Monday, January 20th, Donald Trump will take the oath of office and return to power as president of the United States. Trump is promising to overhaul U.S. foreign and commercial policy in what many experts believe will mark the start of a very tumultuous period — not just for the United States but also for countries around the world. Sarah Shidore, director of the Global South program at the Quincy Institute in Washington, D.C. joins Eric & Cobus to discuss the impact of the coming Trump presidency on developing countries and how he expects China to respond. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander | @stadenesque  Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social FOLLOW CGSP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine Arabic: عربي: www.alsin-alsharqalawsat.com | @SinSharqAwsat JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CGSP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CGSP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi ended a four-nation Africa tour on Thursday that included stops in Namibia, the Republic of Congo, Chad, and Nigeria. Other than a $255 million railway loan deal for Nigeria, there were very few other major announcements made during the week-long trip. But that's not a bad thing, according to Ovigwe Eguegu, a policy analyst at Development Reimagined. Ovigwe joins Eric, Cobus, & Géraud to explain why the consistency of the Chinese Foreign Minister's annual visit to Africa, a tradition that now dates back 35 years, is what's important. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander | @stadenesque  Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social FOLLOW CGSP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine Arabic: عربي: www.alsin-alsharqalawsat.com | @SinSharqAwsat JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CGSP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CGSP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth

China is deeply unpopular in the U.S., UK, Japan, and most other wealthy countries, and given the politics in those regions, there's no indication that's going to change anytime soon. It's a very different story, though, in large parts of developing Asia, Africa, the Americas and the Middle East where public opinion surveys reveal generally favorable views of the Chinese. A new "poll of polls" by the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) on global public opinion about China reveals a lot more nuance about how people in the Global South feel about their countries' ties with China than what is framed in the mainstream media narratives. Andrew Chubb, a senior fellow at ASPI, led the project and joins Eric & Cobus to discuss what the data tells us about the diversity of views on China across the Global South. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander | @stadenesque  Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social FOLLOW CGSP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine Arabic: عربي: www.alsin-alsharqalawsat.com | @SinSharqAwsat JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CGSP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CGSP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth

2024 will be remembered as a seminal year in China-Africa relations with a rebound of Chinese lending to the continent and renewed diplomatic engagement in the run-up to the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation summit that took place in Beijing. Africa also emerged again as a centerpiece in the U.S.-China duel as leaders from both major powers visited the continent in 2024. And while stakeholders in the U.S. and Europe struggle to get their businesses to see the opportunities available in Africa, Chinese firms have no such concerns as they expanded their presence this year in the mining, telecom, and automotive sectors. In this year-end double episode, Eric, Cobus, & Géraud share their top three China-Africa stories of 2024 and provide a forecast for what to expect in the year ahead. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander | @stadenesque | @christiangeraud Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social FOLLOW CGSP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine Arabic: عربي: www.alsin-alsharqalawsat.com | @SinSharqAwsat JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CGSP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CGSP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth  

Chinese President Xi Jinping surprised a lot of people last month when he made an unannounced stopover in Morocco on his way home from the G20 summit in Brazil. The North African country doesn't often come to mind when considering China's key geopolitical partners in the MENA region... which is a mistake. Morocco is now a major manufacturing hub for Chinese automakers whose vehicles and parts flow directly into the European market thanks, in part, to a free trade agreement. The Kingdom is also one of the few countries in the world to have a free trade pact with both the EU and the U.S., making it especially attractive for Chinese firms who may be looking to shift production out of China to avoid the anticipated tariffs that will be imposed by the incoming Trump administration. François Conradie, lead political economist at Oxford Economics Africa, joins Eric and Géraud from Casablanca to discuss why the combination of Morocco's strategic location and abundant resources is luring more Chinese engagement in the country. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander | @christiangeraud Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social FOLLOW CGSP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine Arabic: عربي: www.alsin-alsharqalawsat.com | @SinSharqAwsat JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CGSP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CGSP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth

Tensions between China and the Philippines over territorial disputes in the South China Sea flared anew in December after another confrontation at sea. Soon after two vessels collided near the contested Scarborough Shoal, representatives from both sides took to the airwaves to blame the other for the latest incident. Both Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Philippines counterpart Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. have made it clear they will not concede even a single inch of territory they claim rightfully belongs to their countries. Don McLain Gill, a Manila-based lecturer at De La Salle University, joins Eric to discuss why the situation going into the new year will remain very tense. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social FOLLOW CGSP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine Arabic: عربي: www.alsin-alsharqalawsat.com | @SinSharqAwsat JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CGSP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CGSP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth

Donald Trump will be back in the Oval Office in just over a month after he is inaugurated for his second term as U.S. president on January 20th. While there's concern in some African capitals that Trump may scale back U.S. engagement, there's also a sense of optimism in some countries that he will shake up the system in ways that will give African leaders more access to U.S. policymakers. What is certain, though, is the incoming president's national security team is very hawkish on China, and that will no doubt find its way back to the center of U.S. foreign policy towards the continent. Cameron Hudson, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and one of Washington's most well-known Africa watchers, joins Géraud and Cobus to share his forecast for what the U.S. strategy towards Africa will look like in the next Trump administration. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject | @cgneema | @stadenesque Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social FOLLOW CGSP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine Arabic: عربي: www.alsin-alsharqalawsat.com | @SinSharqAwsat JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CGSP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CGSP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth

India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar told the lower house of parliament last week that "some improvement" had been made in resolving the ongoing border dispute with China. But he also cautioned that a lot more work has to be done and that it will take years to "reset" relations with Beijing. The two sides have pulled back their military forces from seven points along their contested boundary in the Himalayas, so they're no longer in close proximity to one another, but those troops are nonetheless still stationed there and haven't yet been redeployed. Daniel Balazs, a research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, is a specialist in Sino-Indian relations and joins Eric to discuss what's motivating the two countries to negotiate a border settlement. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject | @cgneema | @eric_olander | @stadenesque Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social FOLLOW CGSP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine Arabic: عربي: www.alsin-alsharqalawsat.com | @SinSharqAwsat JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CGSP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CGSP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth