The China Global South Project

1 week ago | chinaglobalsouth.com | Eric Olander

India publicly refuted what was purportedly a joint statement by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a China-initiated bloc that India is a founding member of, that denounced Israel’s missile attacks on Iran.

1 week ago | chinaglobalsouth.com | Eric Olander

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke by phone with the foreign ministers of Israel and Iran over the weekend as both countries launched devastating missile attacks against civilian targets in each other’s countries.

2 weeks ago | chinaglobalsouth.com | Eric Olander

For years, China has been seen as the pivotal international economic partner across Africa. That was certainly true in terms of steadily rising trade volumes and a fire hose of state backed loans that built roads, railways, and ports across the continent. But when it comes to investment, China’s always been a laggard behind the United States and the former European colonial powers. Today, it’s the UAE, not China, that is the continent’s largest source of foreign direct investment.

2 weeks ago | chinaglobalsouth.com | Eric Olander

Kenya’s top diplomat, Musalia Mudavadi, hoped that his visit to China this week would prompt Beijing to speed up approval of a large financial package that his government is counting on to build new roads and extend the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) to the Ugandan border. During bilateral talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Changsha on Tuesday, Mudavadi emphasized the importance of wrapping up the negotiations over the financial package ahead of the new fiscal year that begins in July.

2 weeks ago | chinaglobalsouth.com | Eric Olander

Last year, in January, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni called on China to do more to open its vast market to African goods by removing trade tariffs for the entire continent. This week, Museveni got what he asked for when China removed all import duties for goods coming from 53 African countries (not Eswatini, which still maintains ties with Taiwan), prompting the question of what the Ugandan leader and his counterparts will do to take advantage of this new privilege.